


Under the Night Sky

by TakingFlight48



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 10 year relationship, 8 year engagement, Bad Ass Dramione, Bad Ass Hermione, Deep Throating, Dramione Love, F/M, Fingering, Flashbacks, Fluffiest Dramione, Hermione and Draco are so in love, Leering Blaise, Lots of real estate, Malfoy Enterprises, Monster-In-Law, Oral, Over the top Theo, Sharp Jawed Draco, Slytherin Frienships, Small Hermione, So much purchased real estate, Soft Daphne, Strong Draco, Stupidly-In-Love Dramione, Supportive Harry, Supportive Lucius, Tall Draco, Tattoos, Unexpected friendships, Unsupportive Narcissa, Very slight almost non existent ron bashing, Wedding Fluff, Wedding Night, based off of a true story, based on a true love story, faux prom night, fluff on fluff, growing apart from most of the weasleys, hermione and pansy are bffs, not my own, slight praise kink, so much love, traveling abroad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:55:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25363459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TakingFlight48/pseuds/TakingFlight48
Summary: It shifted in Astronomy, with the stars shining high above when he chose the unoccupied seat next to mine.  It continued with Austen when he gave me my first letter.  He was unwilling to give up on our love, even with oceans between us, and dreams that didn't quite intersect.   He then made me a promise of forever.This is the journey of our love, 10 years in the making, told over two days' time and consummated under the night sky.
Relationships: Daphne Greengrass/Theodore Nott, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy/Narcissa Black Malfoy, Mrs. Granger/Mr. Granger, Pansy Parkinson/Blaise Zabini, Parvati Patil/Harry Potter
Comments: 14
Kudos: 56





	1. Family Stress and a Nice Soak

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> This is a one-shot turned short multi-chapter because I have no self-control. This is also cross-posted on FFN!
> 
> When I learned that her husband began the pursuit of her by sitting next to her in Astronomy class 10 years ago, it evolved into this beautiful story of love after they had their own wedding just last weekend! 
> 
> Please enjoy this journey that I have sprinkled with easter eggs for EGP to find, but also, we know how Draco and Hermione always have a mind of their own, and quite a bit of this is just them being extra. 
> 
> This is unbeta'd although I am never discounting the help Grammarly so eagerly provides XD
> 
> Congratulations again you wonderful human, and thank you for letting your real-life love story inspire this Dramione adventure!  
> I also may have taken some artistic license here and included people, places, and things regardless of their own factual timelines. I own nothing at all! 
> 
> Enjoy ☮ ✌

* * *

**_July 11, 2008_ **

* * *

“Hermione, darling, sit,” my mother insists fruitlessly for the third time, this time with a stronger pat to the seat next to her as I continue to pave a path of stress across my parent’s study.

“What if the preservation spells are faulty? Or there are issues with the food, especially those coming from the muggle stores? What if no one wants to show up? Or the guests are underwhelmed with the set-up and simplicity we decided on? What if, by using the cottage, we are taking advantage of Narcissa and her chosen space? What if Narcissa...” I stutter to a stop as I notice Pansy had entered the study during my pathetic rant.

“MI,” Pansy growls, and I quickly sit. That tone from my almost sister, combined with the lethal intensity of Veronica Granger’s protectiveness, will only add more stress to my countenance if I continue to disregard these two ladies.

Pansy puts her hand up and begins to counter my concerns as she delicately crouches before me, “One, you created the preservation charms so they will not fail overnight. Two the house-elves may have been ‘hired’ by you, but they also work for you regularly, very little will stop them from ensuring everything runs smoothly. Three, the boys already have a team monitoring your muggle family and friends to ensure they are not detained if they choose to attend, which most have. Those last few concerns, I am going to ignore as they are, quite truthfully immaterial, and you know it.” She finishes, running her hands up and down my arms in comfort, as I rub a loose thread from my polo between my fingers.

Turning her head, “How long has she been like this mum? When I left the cottage, she was lazily casting preservation charms as Ditty followed her around, reciting the menu for final confirmation.”

I huff, “She is right here,” at the same time mum replies with, “I would say as soon as the Malfoys left for the townhouse, shortly after you.”

Pansy shrewdly looks at me as the pieces fall together, and she sighs, “You are not actually worried about all these things, Mi. Hermione, what did she say tonight?”

“Oh, I didn’t see Cissa speaking to her,” mum responds softly as she too considers if this is the cause of my returned anxiety.

“She came up to me a few times tonight,” I said as I clutch Pansy with one hand, wrapping the other around my stomach, “she reminded me how dreadful tomorrow was going to be. Mostly the usual vitriol relating to the _small_ wedding and how woefully unprepared I am to plan anything of importance. The same old I am using her, her family, her kindness, being selfish in my desire to use the cottage, not accept her assistance. I know I have said this before, but we chose the cottage because she begged us to have the ceremony there. She insisted she would work on all the details and fund the entire affair, not that that is an issue either way, but _she_ walked away from the planning, and this is _my day_ after all. I just didn’t need her bemoaning my decisions when she walked away from that right months ago.” I let go of Pansy as I angrily wipe the single tear that manages to escape.

With an affirmative nod, Pansy gets up and crosses to the drinks cart. I turn my gaze skyward, attempting to bring myself back to the happiness I felt earlier today, in hopes of drowning out Narcissa’s remarks. I readjust on the sofa to get a better view through our skylight, thankful for the good omen of a clear night sky above.

_I ignored the soft click of the door moments before class was to begin. I kept my attention on the starry sky above until commanding steps stopped directly to my right rather than continuing elsewhere. I managed to swallow my harsh growl; I was getting very tired of people trying to sit next to me when before the war, I sat alone unless the boys joined me. I had hoped since this Astronomy class was so small that I would avoid this here. I shifted myself slightly to greet the interloper, prepared with my fiercest glare when my face blanked as I met glacial grey eyes on a neutral, unexpected face._

_“Granger,” he nodded slightly, as he proceeded to lower himself into the seat and lay his things out. I gave a slight, stuttered nod back and turned forward as Professor Sinistra began the lesson. This was a NEWT level class with less than 10 students and at least 20 open seats, yet he had chosen to sit at the table furthest from the door, with the swottiest girl in class. A girl, previous to the war, he would rather eat aconite than sit beside._

_I barely paid attention as I waited for any sort of explanation for his actions. I was sorely disappointed as class dragged on, and the only indication that he was just as uncomfortable as I was, was the tense fist at his side and a slight bounce to his leg. I was left with sending surreptitious glances his way through my hair, thankful I had worn it down tonight._

_He had changed this year, which wasn’t saying much since - war. However, his hair was cut close to the sides and longer on top, a pretend mohawk, very Muggle in style. I glanced away quickly as an image, unbidden, of Malfoy with a punk rock mohawk, entered my mind and focused on swallowing my giggles down._

_After a few deep breaths, I pretended to glance at the night sky behind him when I noticed something shining off his face. I almost fell out of my chair._ _He had a piercing on his left eyebrow._

_I kept my gaze forward the rest of the class as I ran through every conceivable reason why Lord to Be Draco Malfoy would have a muggle piercing on his_ _pure_ _body. I may have known how cruel he could be, how he too was forced into impossible decisions to protect his family, how he liked to eat green apples at lunch instead of dessert, and how he preferred his tea from 6 years of eating in the same Great Hall, but I did not_ _know_ _him._

_I contemplated this as I kept my gaze firmly away from him for the rest of the class._

_It wasn’t until the following month when we both finished an exam early that, I wrapped myself in Gryffindor bravery and initiated the conversation. I had unsuccessfully tried to sit separately from him leading up to this point. However, he continued to seat himself as close to me as possible, regardless of the many empty seats around us._

_“Is that your first Jane Austen novel, or have you had a chance to read Pride and Prejudice yet?” I tried to sound neutral in my inquiry when I had noticed he was reading a well-loved copy of Persuasion. It didn’t take long for me to learn that he had spent a good portion of the summer at the British Library in Muggle London, and Austen was suggested to him along with Wells, Hosseini, Dickens, and various manifestos._

_We continued our conversation down the Astronomy Tower stairs, barely noticing the odd glances we were garnering around us._

_He began to walk me to my quarters nightly when we realized he was just down the hall from mine. The very few 8th years that returned were given private quarters typically reserved for staff rather than dorm-like settings. I learned that he drank coffee in the mornings instead of tea, but tea all other times of the day._

_I learned that although it was expected of him to run Malfoy Industries and the Estate, he was looking forward to it. He had used some of his time in Muggle London to research Muggle stock and was already working to bring more Muggle Companies into his portfolio. We worked together to invest his inheritance into overseas tech companies that we saw potential in the Americas and Asia. He apologized after that, for everything, and even though I cautioned that I was quick to forgive but not always forget, he insisted he was ready to put in the work._

“I will be fine,” I smile at Pansy as she hands me the jasmine tea. Draco makes sure it is stocked regularly.

“Ignore the hag. For all the pretty words of atonement and encouragement she spewed, she began to show her true colors and has been atrocious to you once you won Lucius’s case. You can only focus on the present moment, Mi. Can you change the way she treats you? Can you force her to remember the relationship you two had for the first three years of your relationship?” She asks me, knowing she is right, “No, at this moment, right now, you cannot. Focus on what you can control, what you can change. Everything else, from the people involved, to the ceremony tomorrow, will be just as it was meant to be because Morgana knows you deserve this happiness. You both do. So stop stewing on the words of a lesser being and remember that your Hermione Granger and tomorrow you will be a Malfoy, for better or worse!” I snort into my tea as she gives a most undignified fist pump through the air. She salvages this, however, with a slight bow and light clapping from mum.

“You two are too much,” I say, pointing at them as I feel my lips tug into a small smile.

“I shall take this,” Pansy swiftly replaces my empty teacup with a silver, thick stocked envelope and is swishing her wand around as she pulls me off my perch. Gentle hands guide me up into my room and through to the ensuite. “Final bath with the herbs and oils Parvati finished cultivating from the greenhouses today, managing that hair, and then bed!” she finishes as she begins to undress me.

“Pans, I got this part, promise,” I wink at her with a small smile as she huffs dramatically, “By all means, if you don’t want a beautiful woman undressing you before you're magically bound, far be it from me to complain.”

Blowing me a kiss, she silently leaves as I shake my hair out and slide into the tub, sighing softly as I lean back and eye the envelope still held tightly in my hand. I sigh wistfully, as I glance back to see Pans has shut the door.

_Sneaking a glance under the guise of adjusting my scarf, I noticed the boys trailing close behind us. I am saved from bringing attention to myself as Pansy goes into detail about her cousin, Nicolas, who was coming through Hogsmeade the following week, “I know you two will just hit it off Mi. Oooo! That’s it! We’ll call you Mi!”_

_I rolled my eyes at this new nickname, better than ‘Mione, or the dreaded ‘Herms’ from Theo. “He is finishing up a charms_ _and_ _curse-breaking mastery with the Scandinavian branch of Gringotts, which means he's smart, like you. No worries, he is one of the better ones in the matriarchal line and very little of the pompousness of the male line. He hasn’t dated much, and since he is second-born, there hasn’t been pressure for him to marry young like his brother.”_

_Daphne quickly interrupted, “Hermione - he is almost as tall as Dray, and he’s got these blue eyes, you could swim in them for how clear they are!”_

_I heard a quiet scoffing from directly behind me as the boys caught up to us. Theo draped his arm around Daphne’s shoulders, “Are my deep greens not good enough for you, darling?”_

_I found myself automatically seeking out Malfoy, his bright, grey eyes steadily watching me, the same eyes that make me simultaneously freeze and melt in place. “You two sound like an infomercial for blind dates. Pansy, you know I don’t have time to meet someone new right now,” I complained quietly when I dragged my gaze back to find Parvati’s infuriating smirk, eyes darting between us as Pansy moaned she didn’t know what an infocercial was._

_“Granger, don’t you have a meeting with the Headmistress?” I nod, thankful for a way out of the conversation. Thanking him for the reminder as I start to head back inside, I can feel everyone eyeing our interaction carefully, “It ends at 3?”_

_I confirmed the time with Malfoy, slightly perplexed at the question, and waited a moment longer for Harry to catch up as we walked back up to Minerva’s offices. We spent the time quietly laughing at how surreal it was to be making friends with these people, all the while wondering when Malfoy had learned my schedule so well. I wouldn’t realize until later that Malfoy had asked to walk me back to my quarters where he handed me the first silver envelope I would receive of many._

I slowly dry my other hand on my nearby towel and open the newest letter from him, careful to keep it out of the water.

> Lioness,
> 
> I remember the first time you received a letter from me. I spent all 3 hours of your meeting with Minerva switching between pacing my rooms and ruining more parchment than I ever thought possible. It was with Austen’s blessing that I ended up putting all my hopes into ‘the power of a well-written letter’.
> 
> Asking you to give me a chance before you were shuttled off with whatever cousins Pansy and Daphne could find, was the greatest decision I had made that year, second only to sitting next to you in Astronomy class.
> 
> Knowing you the way I do, I first need to remind you of what you keep telling me. Tomorrow will be perfect. Everything we have planned was done out of love for each other, and it is just another step, another chapter, of our 10-year long journey together. You put so much of yourself into this ceremony, dove. I am so excited to see you walking down the aisle in all your magical resplendence, but I am most excited about the _after_. To be able to wake up next to you for the rest of my life, always knowing home will forever be with you.
> 
> I am ready to run the world now as Malfoy’s together. I know you were hesitant to leave your life as a Solicitor behind, even if your dream was HGM Potions and Charms. And now HGM Potions and Charms is thriving, even if you do want to enter the Muggle industry by farming _succulents_. We will continue to improve as much of magical life as we can, together officially now, with our friends steadily by our sides.
> 
> Now, be a good girl, and enjoy the bath the girls prepared for you, get ready for bed, contemplating of all the amazing things I will do for you for the rest of our lives. In the morning be prepared to sit in silence, drink the Earl Grey Hippy will have ready for you, and do not _Panic_. I will be taking care of everything, including mother tomorrow, you just remember you are my Queen.
> 
> **Forever Yours,**
> 
> Dragon
> 
> **P.S. Hosseini wrote, “Of all the hardships a person had to face, none was more punishing than the simple act of waiting.” - Do not touch yourself unless I am there to bear witness.**

I shiver at his closing remark as my hand slowly trails down from my warm cheek to my tingling collarbone, knowing the praise he will bestow on me tomorrow night, deep and heavy against my skin, will be worth the wait, just as it had been for our first time together.


	2. The Simple Act of Waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the night before the wedding _comes_ to a close, Draco makes sure to tease his wife-to-be, even while apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up for some naughty bits ;)
> 
> Enjoy ☮ ✌

_ "Lioness, I don't think the room is going to be there anymore," I stopped my eager pulling when I heard the slight quiver in his voice. I stepped into his space, ran my hands up and down his lower arms, and replied carefully, "Dragon, are you okay with trying anyway? We can turn around, I can show you the surprise another day, somewhere else."  _

_ I smiled sincerely up at him as I tugged him down by his tie so I could plant a short kiss against the corner of his mouth, thankful for the few inches I gained with these heels. I rub my fingers soothingly against the furrow of his brows. He swallowed as his eyes searched mine. Bent over as he was, I could effortlessly tell when his gaze left mine to peek further down the 7th-floor corridor and back at me, brows relaxing.  _

_ "Lead the way, my Queen," he growled softly in my ear as his hands quickly engulfed my hips, squeezing once before straightening back up. I stood frozen, staring at the 3rd button on his dress shirt as I took a stabilizing before squinting up at that damned smirk of his. I huffed out a laugh. He knew how much I adored that he could engulf me entirely with his hands alone, before taking his larger hand in mine once again to lead him towards the Room of Requirement.  _

_ He was surprised, eyes questioning as I led him to an elaborately engraved wooden door rather than the expected stone wall. "The Room and I had a long chat earlier today," I answered cheekily. With mischief in my eyes, I looked up at him and blindly grabbed for the door to tug him in. He kept his darkening gaze on me a moment longer before the reflection of the many fairy lights forced his attention away.  _

_ Gesturing out with my arm, I turned forward once again. Draco stepped into me, balancing his chin on the crown of my head as his hands brushed from my neck to my wrists repeatedly. I gave a contented sigh at the comfort in this intimacy. Taking the time to observe the space with him, I saw the fire flickering on the other end of the room. The floating fairy lights provided a path to the room's real focal point, the massive walnut four-poster bed covered in silver and gold silks.  _

_ "Mmmm, something you want to tell me, Princess?" he whispered, nipping lightly at my ear. I shivered as his voice vibrated against my back. With a slight exhale, I turned slowly in his arms with a wicked grin and began in my primmest voice, "I learned this summer about something called Prom; a celebration similar to the end of year ball we had tonight." I continued as I unbuttoned his crisp, deep grey suit jacket, biting my lip as I rose up as high as my heels allowed, to push it off his broad shoulders, then began work on his tie.  _

_ "Did you know that afterward, some couples celebrate Prom by renting hotel rooms to enjoy privacy? Sometimes," his tie slid to the floor, "for the very," I spelled the buttons of his crisp silver dress shirt open, running my hands up his taut torso, "first time?"  _

_ I whispered a spell to send his ' **M** ' cufflinks to a side table, ghosting my lips over his left nipple as I did so, and watched heatedly as his nipple puckered. He inhaled sharply. "This," I said, motioning unnecessarily behind me, "is our hotel room for the night," I concluded as his shirt landed carelessly behind him.  _

_ Biting my lip, I suddenly felt silly under his silence, "Obviously, this isn't actually either of our first times, but well, it's been about 8 months since we were exclusive, and although we have messed about we always stop, and I just-" _

_ He effectively shut up my ranting as his hands traced up the length of my spine, and his fingers latched onto the zip. I gasped as the heat of his calloused hand followed the path the closure exposed. He splayed his fingers out when he reached my lower back, gently urging my silver gown down, and followed the silk as it slipped off my hips, down my arse, and joining his clothes on the floor around us.  _

_ His hands circled my lower back. His fingers traced the seam of my knickers with need. His dilating eyes trailed down my face to my chest covered in a carefully chosen deep green snake patterned, lace lingerie. I felt the loss of heat on my left side as he dragged his hand up to trace a finger after one of the slithering snakes as it trailed around my nipple. With a groan as I puckered further, he brought his eyes back up to mine with an intensity I hadn't seen since the beginning of our relationship.  _

_ He whispered, "Are you sure, Hermione? We can wait, we can wait until I have proven myself further to you, I," I reached up, cupping his strong jaw with my hand, thumb drifting over his soft lips.  _

_ Smiling softly, I whispered, "I cannot imagine waiting one moment longer to feel all of you, Draco. You have nothing to prove, nothing else to show me, that would make me feel any stronger or differently than I do right now." _

_ His lips crashed onto mine as he bent his knees slightly, hands drifted to my upper thighs, and straightened up, lifting me with him. I flicked my strapless heels off as I locked my legs around his firm waist, grasping onto his rippling shoulder muscles tight as I felt him follow the lit trail to the bed. His lips left mine in a harsh inhale of breath as he proceeded to kiss his way across my jaw to my ear, suckling hard and earning him a groan.  _

_ "Have you been a good girl for me, Lioness? Or did you touch yourself since last weekend?" He breathed out against my stuttered moans, the need I had felt all day intensifying as I gasped out a pleading "no," and "good girl for you." His lips followed the blush's trail down my neck, sucking hard and heavy on my collarbone and leaving open-mouthed kisses along the seams of my bralette.  _

_ "Mmm, I," gasped, trying to answer more coherently as one hand moved to pull my throbbing sex tighter into him. The other came up to unclasp my lingerie with a practiced efficiency that had my blush spreading lower.  _

_ Knowing what I was thinking, I heard his deep chuckle against my chest before he latched onto my right nipple. He flicked his tongue until he had a harsh peek between his teeth and sucked hard as he bit down, forcing my head back as I groaned. "Draco, please," as I pulled his head tighter against my chest, my other hand grasped his shoulder muscle tight. I begged my thighs to squeeze tighter and my hips to tilt forward to alleviate some of my ache.  _

_ Before I could really work my hips into compliance, I was suddenly weightless, suspended in the air as he tossed me onto the bed.  _

_ Bouncing softly, I look up, startled at the sudden loss of his heat. He chuckled over me, pupils dilated as he began unbuckling his trousers, and I rushed to fling the dangling silver and green lingerie off of me.  _

_ I am backing up against the pillows while he meticulously removes his trousers, dress shoes, and socks. Then the bed dips low, and he is prowling towards me with the grace of an albino panther.  _

_ "Open those beautiful legs for me, Princess," he  _ ~~_ requested _ ~~ _ demanded, and I obediently positioned myself to let my knees fall open.  _

_ "Such a good girl," he comments, his voice taking on the rich, nighttime radio tone I melt for. I shiver deeply as he begins to trail his lips along my knees. His eyes never leave mine; he lays open-mouthed kisses up and down one thigh and then the other. I feel the long awakened tingle across my abdomen intensify. "Please Draco, please please please, I don't want your mouth love, please please let me feel you," I pleaded, hoping, just for now, he would forgo worshipping me.  _

_ Breathing deeply, he sits. I slam my hands over my mouth as a squeak leaves when he runs his fingers along my slit over my sodden knickers. With a stuttered hiss, he grips my knickers tight and rips them off me, throwing the remains over his shoulder.  _

_ I scrambled up to grab the back of his neck tightly, bringing his lips to mine urgently. We moan into each other's mouth as my aching nipples rub against his chest. Kissing and nipping at each other, I use my other hand to shove his pants down, gasping as he lands heavily against my stomach.  _

_ With one hand tangled in my hair to hold me upright, his other hand traced its way slowly down my neck, whispering over my puckered peaks to the trimmed bush above my swollen nub. I am drenched as he teases me before running his fingers around my opening. "Salazar, Princess. Is this all for me? Were you waiting for me to touch you all night, keeping this sweet little pussy ready for when you brought me up here to take you, babe?"  _

_ I nod almost violently as I pepper kisses along his face and jaw, my small hand reaching down and wrapping as much as I can around his hot cock tightly. I swallowed his guttural keen, as I slowly began to pump him; he pushed first one then two fingers into me, keeping rhythm with my hand.  _

_ "I, unmhh, came up here to set up the room, ahhhh," I throw my head back as I begin to ride his fingers. "Just thinking about you," I moan, "about tonight, had me terribly needy. And then you in that suit and your hands on me all night."  _

_ I keen when his thumb languidly begins circling my clit as he adds a third finger.  _

_ "Oh, Godric, fuck that feels so, fuck," I feel my nipples harden almost painfully against his chest. I press my temple against his forehead, forgetting all attempts at getting him off.  _

_ "How do you think I felt," he whispers against my ear, "seeing you walk down those stairs in that silky number," a sharp nip to my lobe followed by his soothing tongue, "moving with you like water." Sighing at his words, I close my eyes tightly and pull myself closer until his cock grinds between us as I continue to ride his fingers.  _

_ "Such a good girl," he hisses, "Taking what you need. Do you feel how hard you make me, Lioness, do you feel me twitch between us every time you groan? I want to see you, babe, open your eyes," I let out a deep, guttural moan. I try keeping my eyes open as he squeezes lightly against the side of my neck, fingers pumping rapidly, thumb flicking manically. I keen loudly as I rise, "Yes, Princess, so perfect. Soak my fingers. I feel you, baby, almost there," and I can barely breathe.  _

_ "Dr- Draco, I, so close, I can't, I, unghh I'm," suddenly I am a violent wave, crashing down over the bedrock as I breathe his name like a mantra. He's laying me back against the bed, kissing me softly as I return to myself, fingers still sliding slowly inside me.  _

_ "So, so perfect for me. You are so beautiful, coming on my fingers. I cannot wait to feel you around me as you fall apart," and although I knew Draco didn't expect a response, I am panting yes, feeling my blush spread, giddy under his praise. "You will come once more tonight, right Lioness?" My walls fluttered weakly at his whispered words.  _

_ He chuckled, praising my body's response with kisses.  _

_ Pulling his hand back when I urge him to withdraw his torturous massage, he sits back on his knees, stroking his member with his wet hand.  _

_ I moan wantonly at the sight of him using my juices to prepare himself. I lift my leg with some difficulty along his hip, "Please, babe, please." As my breath levels out, he leans forward, rubbing his head along my clit slowly, gathering more of my come. He finally begins pushing the head of his member in. He maintains an infuriating slowness as he burrows deeper into my sex.  _

_ The look on his face as he stilled inside me stole my breath away. This was not the first time we had touched and pleased the other, but it is the first time we have been fully connected in this way. Neither of us was expecting the feeling of utter wholeness.  _

_ "I love you," I whisper, and I almost take it back. I wasn't meant to say it for the first time like this, but I just could not find it within me to care as his almost black eyes widened. I wiped the tear that quietly escaped him with my thumb.  _

_ With an open-mouthed kiss to my forehead, Draco summoned a pillow and placed it under my hips. The change of angle has my back arching as he moves even deeper into me.  _

_ My breath huffed out in a long stream of nonsensical thoughts as I locked my feet together behind him. I tried urging him faster with my pants and moans, but he slowed instead.  _

_ I feel him bend further onto me, breathing something repeatedly against my chest that I cannot even begin to decipher under the fog of completion. He continued his slow pace, making sure I felt every moment that I contracted as pushed back in and the tortuous drag of his head against my walls on his way out.  _

_ I begin to babble, "Feels so good, babe, having you, this is everything. I need," but perhaps it was more coherent than I thought. He picked up the pace, his teeth nipping under my chin, and whatever spell he was under broke as he started to speak.  _

_ "So lucky, babe. So thankful. Glad I sat next to you. I," he stops as he breathes heavily against my neck, his hips stuttering slightly.  _

_ "It's okay, I don't need you to say it," I panted out, hands running lovingly through his white-blonde hair, urging him gently to look at me. "Draco. I know. I know how I feel, and I love you enough for both of us," I finished shakily. He dropped his forehead to mine. His hips began to drive faster into me.  _

_ His right hand drifted up to intertwine with mine, holding it by my head, his other hand trailed down to my throbbing clit, our breaths a sharp staccato against our moans and groans. We stayed that way, foreheads together, eyes shifting to our joined bodies and back up.  _

_ Slowly, we felt the tightness reach almost impossible depths within our cores as the sound of skin against skin intensified around us. Unlike the violent crash before, we both came like the relief of cool wind on a hot summer day. Our bodies shaking against each other, with a whispered groan that can only come from two souls recognizing home.  _

I breathe deeply and attempt to push the thirst for him away as a soft knock proceeds Daphne. 

"Hey," she greets me with a tender smile, "He did it again, huh?" She asks softly, and I stare at her blankly for a moment. 

She chuckles, motioning to the letter clenched tightly in my hand. The hand I had forced to ignore my independent nature and heed his warning, knowing the wait was worth it. 

Chuckling ironically, as he did tease me again, I answer in the affirmative. 

"Mmm, how long have I been here?" I ask as I send the letter zooming back to join the others in my room. "Long enough that I volunteered to make sure you were still in one piece," she quips. Her sharp gaze not missing my legs rubbing together under the water, and she smirks wickedly. 

Rolling my eyes, I redirect the conversation to Draco, "He fought so hard those first few years after we graduated. He would say he wouldn't let us end up as a footnote in post-war history. Do you remember the portkey he had commissioned while we were abroad?" I ask as Daphne nods, quietly getting my vanity ready. 

"Kingsley gifted the repeat-use portkey keyed to my magical signature after Draco provided an anonymous donation to the Auror department. The same donation that ensured the Department could upgrade everyone's mission gear." I shook my head, bringing my knees up to my chest and staring sightlessly into the lukewarm water. 

"Kings would have granted me that request immediately, but he wanted to do it and have some unrelated good come out of it all at once. I didn't even know until yesterday when Kings mentioned it at the dress rehearsal." 

Noticing the goosebumps along my skin, Daphne silently holds out my bathrobe and urges me towards the vanity to begin drying my hair. "I honestly just expected to communicate via floo and owl while we were abroad and hoped that that would be enough." 

Daphne snorted most unbecomingly, "You are so naive if you ever thought that would be sufficient for a man as devoted to you as Draco Malfoy." 

I splutter, "That was early days, Daph! I, well, I," chuckling behind me, she runs her hands through my mane, preparing to plait it. 

She gives me a look before pouting, "Now who is going to sit and work your tresses into submission at night? Who knows when Draco will let us stay the night in your new home," she finishes dramatically, sounding scarily like Pansy. 

I scoff but am immediately cut off as she points at my reflection, "Uh, uh, you know how Slytherin he can be when it comes to you. He will try and keep you all to himself while making you believe it's your idea. Like a spoiled Dragon keeping his prized treasure close."

We both laugh, knowing how trying it is, reminding Draco just  who he was in a relationship with. 

"Well, I learned how to outwit him from the best," I quip, chuckling at all the 'training' Pans forced onto me these past 10 years. 

As our laughter dies out, I contemplate how thankful I am for Daphne's easy friendship. As she whispers the charm to hold my hair in place, I allow my mind to quiet some of the tension for tomorrow as she gently hugs me from behind. 

The comfortable silence is brought to an end as Pansy glides in once again. 

"All right, you sappy hoes, we have a schedule to keep. You sis," she squints at me, one perfectly manicured finger pointed in my direction, "are required to get at least 8 full hours of sleep. Then as this required hour of silence is preposterous, I will be here at 7:30 am instead of 8. Draco's request can go hang." 

Sharing a conspiratorial look with Daph as I get up, I pull Pansy close for a tight hug. 

"What, what are you doing? I cannot go back to that house smelling of you! They already think we are spending tonight exploring deep hidden fantasies!" she shrieks. Still, she holds on just as tight before I let her go with a quick peck to the lips. Daph giggles, slapping my arse as I turn to leave. 

"There, now you can report back that I taste as good as they think," I wink back at them as I saunter to my room. 

"Oh, no. That was not long enough for a full taste!" She shouts back as I slip into my nightwear and under the covers. 

"Later, GRANGER," they chorus as they descend the stairs and presumably floo home. 

My contemplation in the silence is halted with a quiet pop to my right, followed by the clicking of my reading light. I blink owlishly at the familiar elf., "Miss Mi, Trippy has potion and note for you." I quickly sit up to receive the items and manage a quick thank you before she pops away again.

  
  


> My  ~~ favorite ~~ second favorite girl,
> 
> Drink the whole damn bottle down. 
> 
> It’s your formula, so you know it will work for exactly 8 hours without adverse effects. Don’t argue. 
> 
> **We love you - drink it,**
> 
> Blaise - your secret lover
> 
> **PS.** My wife smells just like you. **Send memories as payment..**

I chuckle reading the absurd note I should have expected from Blaise and unstopper the potion. My heart is full as I welcome sleep blissfully, hoping that if any dreams slip through, they are filled with a rich, deep voice and darkening silver eyes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope to keep updating daily until the full story is up :) 
> 
> Again - zero self control. 
> 
> Check out my lovely muse - EarlGreyPanic!! We have another chapter to Relax for Me coming out at the end of the week! 
> 
> Let me know what you think! ConCrit appreciated ॐ


	3. His Namesake and a Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wedding Gifts, the best sorts of friends, and fluffy reminders of their love story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did take some artistic licenses here in regards to business establishments and historical locales, but, my sandbox, eh? :) 
> 
> Enjoy ☮ ✌

**_July 12, 2008_ **

* * *

* _Tap, taptap, taptaptap*_

Intellectually, I know that I cannot be dreaming the tapping after a night of dreamless sleep; however, whoever is thinking intellectually as they wake is probably a cyborg. 

Whining softly, I cast a wandless ‘ _tempus’_ and huff at the 6:50 am hovering in the air. I bat it away with the intent of sleeping a few more hours when I hear another _*tap, taptap, taptaptap*_. 

Registering Asteria’s unique tapping this time, I shoot up in bed and am simultaneously bludgeoned with the significance of today. 

I make my way to the sitting room while throwing my robe on as I consider that even a cyborg would need a moment to load up. 

Shaking myself out of my mindless thoughts, I make my way to the receiving window and her perch, “Hello my sweet love, are you staying with me now that you have delivered your parcel, hmmm?” I coo softly as I brush my hand down the deep black feathers of our Eagle Owl. 

_“Draco, whose beautiful girl is this?” I asked slowly, approaching the majestic Eagle-owl that stood watching me closely. Although my experience with owning owls was non-existent, I felt the familiar tug as I had with Crookshanks._

_Hand clenching around his neck, “She’s yours,” he said bashfully, hand dropping and posture straightening he continued, “but I hope one day she can be ours.” He said it so solemnly I almost forgot my intended direction._

_“Babe, she’s perfect, but why did you get me, us, an owl? Don’t you have Arc?” She granted me permission to stroke her feathers, as I looked at Draco questioningly._

_I laughed as she nipped my fingers lightly to bring my full attention back to her, and I proceeded to circle her to get a better look. Her thick plumage was of the darkest black speckled with an almost magical array of light-hued spots as if they were stars shining in the perpetually black night sky. My eyes found Draco’s raised brow and a soft smile. “Like the night sky,” he murmured as he moved next to me, his knuckles lightly grazing my cheek, back and forth, back and forth._

_“He will be 18 next year. International travel doesn’t seem to sit as well with old Arcturus as it once had. I am hoping that Arc can become a stay-near-home owl while she works to get my letters to you. What should we call her, Lioness?” he finished, hand laying lightly around the side of my neck._

_Shivering at the loving yet possessive touch, “Mmmm,” I teased, “Well, Asteria, of course, since you are such a cheesy prat and bring home the one owl that reminds us both of astronomy class.”_

Giving Asteria one last peck on her head and making sure her perch has treats, I summon my wand as I shift closer to my reading chair. 

I take a deep breath reveling in the silence and peace. I know as soon as I sit and open the package, my wedding day will officially begin. 

The blush pink wrapping gives way to a beautiful box and another familiar silver envelope. Placing them carefully onto the mahogany table, I jump as a tea set appears next to it. 

A warmth settles in my chest as I remember Draco’s request that I sit and enjoy my tea. However, I frown, realizing the necessary fixings are missing. Sighing, “If this is how my morning is going to start, hopefully, it’s not a sign of inadequacies the rest of the day, hmm darling?” Asteria hooted as if laughing at my concern. But I groan in approval as the Himalayan acquired Earl Grey hits my tongue with the perfect amount of light sugar and a dash of milk. 

Thankful for being wrong, and suspecting it was either Draco or Buggy, my elf, I turn my attention back to the gift in front of me with a soft smile. 

I separate the letter from the gift, opening it eagerly and breathing in his scent longingly.

> To the Almost Mrs. Malfoy-Granger,
> 
> I’m glad your tea is to your liking. Buggy was confident you wouldn’t be cautious, but Asteria and I know better. ‘ Oh Ye of little faith  .’

\- _I harrumph as I give Asteria a withering look._

> Lioness, I don’t think I am going to embark on any traditions to keep us apart again willingly. 
> 
> This tradition is simply muggle torture. If I had not been sequestered in the Zambini-Parkinson townhome, ~~forced~~ strongly encouraged to drink heavily, and found myself without wand or broom, I would have snuck over.
> 
> I love the various sets of cufflinks ( _Pokemon really, Hermione?_ ) and the international contract to expand into the muggle music industry that you gifted me. I know that your peace will be cut short soon enough, so I wanted to take the time and give you your gifts.

\- _I bite my lip as I remember working with D’Agostino’s as early as last year to get the various cufflinks with muggle and magical inspiration just right. If it hadn’t been for Blaise’s family ties with the infamous Italian Jeweler, I am sure he would have banned me._

> Our immediate circle and I cataloged and sold all goblin-made and muggle cursed jewelry that has been accumulating in our vaults. We sold all cursed, non-heirloom items back to Gringotts. With this profit, a 3.7 million galleon donation is yours as President and owner of Here For You. Your new, dream non-profit.

\- _I can hardly breathe as I re-read this. This has been on the ‘dream list’ we created before graduation—the same as his desire to enter the muggle music industry._

> It is registered and internationally recognized. The donation includes the estimated overhead needed for yourself, an elected CEO, a starting support staff. You also own the deed to the land next to HGM Potions and Herbology, so Here for You can be expanded off your current business location, and make for smoother oversight of your new CEO and team. I am sure Potter is unable to stay away for long and will be there to further expand since I am forbidden from seeing you anywhere but at the end of the aisle today.
> 
> So, now, be a good girl and accept the _(yes, yes exceedingly expensive)_ entirely appropriate gift in the box, guilt-free.

\- _My chuckle is watery as I consider the cost of his cufflinks from my coffers._

> You are loved, little witch.
> 
> Cannot wait to feel your skin against mine,
> 
> Almost Mr. Malfoy-Granger

“Hey,” I squeak as my suspiciously wet eyes try to see the slightly distorted visage of my oldest friend turned brother. I chuckle as I attempt to collect myself, “I can’t seem to turn this leak off,” trying for levity as I gesture to my continuous tears. 

Harry just shakes his head, slight grin in place, as he scoops me up into his arms, squeezing tight. I shove my head into the comfort he provides, so grateful that I never have to ask for this from him. 

Tears of gratitude start to fall anew as Harry soothes me. “You will always be the greatest thing that has happened to us, and we are so excited to support another dream of yours as you keep supporting all of ours. Theo and I already have a stack of resumes for the CEO and support staff positions-”

Cutting him off, “I can’t believe, I mean, who would want to work for a yet to be created non-profit-”

Shaking his head, “You mean who wouldn’t sell their right arm to work at changing the world with _The_ Hermione Granger? We have at least 10 - on paper- excellent candidates for the CEO position alone,” I feel my eyes widen dramatically. “Even the great Hermione Granger cannot be expected to successfully head and lead both a wildly in-demand Potions and Ingredients business and a new, highly necessary non-profit.”

“You know how easily I can manage CEO and owner to both,” I huff more to uphold my stubbornness than because I’m upset.

Running a hand from his brows to his neck, Harry grimaces slightly, “Oh, you can do both. I could even concede that you could do this, plus continue your volunteer solicitor work-”

“Excellent, see --”

“BUT,” he boops me on the nose,

“There is no room for buts,” I growl playfully, swatting his finger away unsuccessfully.

Waggling his eyebrows, Harry taps my nose again, chuckling as he continues, “There is always room for butts, ‘Mione,” I roll my eyes. He grips my upper arms gently, “BUT sister mine, you and Draco are going to redo a massive manor, even with magic. You already confessed to both me and ‘Vati how large of an undertaking that alone is going to be, no matter how temporary. More importantly, however, is that you are now committing yourself to someone beyond this.”

He gently takes my hand, bringing my shining diamond ring at my eye level. Biting my lip, I pretend to brush an errant curl off my face, my fingers coming away with some moisture. He gives me a soft smile as he glances over my shoulder, “If the example the two of you set during your ten-year relationship is anything to go by, your marriage will put all of ours to shame. We know you,” he gestures behind me as I feel two pairs of arms encircle my waist; Daphne and Parvati’s chins come to rest on either shoulder. 

“So, before you spread yourself so thin, you get sick once again,” his eyes harden as I try to prevaricate. “Before that can happen again, we have made this decision for you. We have sprung this unto you unexpectedly, and our friendships demand we take care of the grittier details.”

“Plus, you owe Potter,” I hear Pansy before I see her. “You can all fuck off for not telling me we were ambushing her quiet time before 7:30 am. I have been ready to go since 7.”

“I was her best friend first. I alone have the right to see her before anyone else the day that ferret makes her his,” with a roll of his eyes, Harry sets me free with a kiss to my forehead. I place two sloppy kisses to the cheeks on either side of my head, dashing behind Pansy, thankful for the comedic relief she provides. 

“Mioneeee,” Parvati groans,

“Ugh. _Bave de Hermione_ ,” Daphne faux-retches with a piss poor French accent. 

“Don’t be a plebian Hermione Granger, today you become the new Lady Malfoy. Please don’t make me regret supporting this union,” Pansy sneers, nose high in the air, pinching the robes over my shoulders and moving me away from her body.

“Apologies Lady Zabini, I almost forget the importance your approval to my ten-year-old successful relationship has been.” I bow dramatically, rolling my eyes as I straighten up, “Also, please clarify, why do _I_ ‘owe Potter’?”

Attempting one final sniff, Pansy breaks character as she guffaws, “I can’t play Pureblood Princess in this group.” Wiping some unseen dust, or perhaps diamond tears from under an eye, she continues, “We saved you from committing murder, of course.”

Setting up a privacy screen, Princess ushers me into the shower while the conversation continues to flow. 

Snapping her fingers, Daphne exclaims, “Yes! Draco showed up-”

“-a week after we officially left the continent and three weeks before he was due to visit!” Pansy adds cheekily.

Daph continues loudly, “on the front page of that news rag with my sister draped all over him and the headline, ‘Former Death Eater, Eligible Bachelor once again? Golden Girl Devastated’!”

Parvati snorts behind us, “How could you forget setting half that rental to ash, ‘Mione? Harry had to pull the Boy-Who-Saved-The-World Card to avoid any fines-”

“Or being kicked out,” Harry shouts from further away. 

“-from the Costa Rican Ministry. Then Harry and Pansy had to stop you **both** from traveling back to London and setting those two idiots to flames as well!”

Blushing deeply at the memory, I murmur ‘ _sicco aqua externus’_ to dry my skin off as ‘Vati helps me into my robe with a smirk. 

Reluctantly I agree as I make my way to the sitting room the elves had rearranged for us to use during wedding preparation, “Mmmm, I may vaguely remember a slight issue with fire and Draco shortly after leaving Europe.”

“Oh no no no, Herms, our little spitfire, it was more than just a _slight_ little issue. Potter, stop being such a chit and say goodbye, you’ll see her soon enough,” Theo yells from outside my ensuite, startling me so thoroughly I fall off my seat. 

With my friends all bursting into raucous laughter at my expense, I stand as straight as possible, hands clenched at my hips as I berate the comedic, “FIRST! Do not call me that Theodore; Herms is strictly forboden, especially today.” I gesticulate wildly at the ~~intruder’s~~ newcomers, “Also, is everyone just inviting themselves into my home the day of my wedding? Can we not all transition the blessing of your presence back to your place? I am sure Draco is devastated without you!”

“Don’t be ridiculous Tesoro, since when did we need an invitation? Plus, we came to make sure you didn’t run off with Potter after he snuck off early.” I short circuit as Blaise appears in front of me, leering mischievously as he runs a finger from my collar bone down the opened ‘v’ of my robe. I snap out of it when Pansy starts to snicker next to me.

Rolling my eyes at the married pair, knowing they live to make me uncomfortable, I force his hands to his sides. 

“Who is with Draco if you are all bothering me?” I feel a panic swell in my gut because if Draco’s best mates are here with Harry, that must mean, “Oh, he’s in good hands! He’s with George,” Blaise swats his hand in the air. 

“What! George?” I splutter, brows furrowing as I begin to picture the many abnormalities that Draco could be sprouting at this very moment. 

“Darling, you already have enough wrinkles!” Pansy counters, trying to pull at the skin on my face as I slowly sit back down.

“Nope, now she’s panicking. Hermione,” Harry soothes, “he gave me a Wizard’s Oath. ‘Nothing untoward for the next 48 hours, so mote it be’,” Harry quotes, approaching slowly and calmly like he would a frightened first year. _Oh, sweet, Harry._ I try to maintain a straight face for his sake.

“We swore she would be calm and collected today, and I can go back with a clear conscience.” Harry defends, arms raised in surrender as the traitors our friends harass at him for spoiling the fun and listening to ‘that blonde git’ like a Hufflepuff. 

Unable to help myself, I rise on my toes to give Harry a grateful peck on the lips, laughing as he sputters, face crimson. Parvati cackles, slapping my bum as I move past to usher my adorable pseudo brother and the rest of the band of male miscreants out. I call for Hippy to ensure they leave indefinitely and to please send up mimosas to kick off the morning. 

Knowing that the stylist team Pans has hired will be yanking and pulling shortly, I allow myself to indulge in Daphne’s hands once more as she lets my hair out. 

“Mmmm, I remember what happened after I sent Draco my Patronus warning him that the article made it to us.” 

“‘Vati, what are you, oh. Oh, we’re still on this?” I whine, “I’m getting married today; can’t we talk about other memories?” I thump my head against my hand, “Who wouldn’t be livid after seeing your money-grubbing sister all over my man. And The Dirty Waste was ecstatic after seeing The Golden Girl ‘lose’ the man she should have never had.” 

Sighing, “This was eight years ago, and in his defense, he was preparing to ambush me the following day, but came over, completely _deshabille_ , when that _exaggerated_ Patronus made it to him.” 

“Don’t spoil this for us, Solicitor Granger,” Daphne tut-tuts as she moves next to me, Pansy instructing the team to begin work on my hair as they had previously practiced. 

Continuing dramatically, “We heard a Thor-like boom, indicative of his power and emotional devastation, in the receiving room moments after his frantic Patronus begged you to hold your temper until he explained-”

Laughing, Pansy adds, squeezing my cheek, “which had the opposite effect.”

“Harry disarmed you-,”

“- so quickly you would have thought you were He-Who-Died,” ‘Vati chirps in.

“Shush all of you! You were wandless so you couldn’t put up your specialized, anti-apparition wards or throw around an unforgivable-” yanking my head towards Daphne, “I would never!”

Ignoring me, Daphne continues, “-and he showed up in only those,” she groans obscenely, “thigh and arse hugging Versace denim, a new ear piercing, and a beautiful lioness prowling from just below his left elbow to his shoulder, and barefoot!” 

I hear them all sigh deeply, and carefully roll my eyes skyward as they lust after my fiancé, “and you just-- gaped at him like a fish. I am not ashamed to say we all did.” 

Parvati fans herself behind us, “I won’t ever stop insisting his family hails from Adonis.”

“Nothing that I haven’t seen,” Pansy remarks with a sly smirk my way, “What I was most impressed with was his self-branding. That tattoo, a lioness no less, continues to be the pedestal in which we all base our marriages on,” she finishes - smirk growing into a tender smile. 

I will never get used to the adoration they all have for our relationship. Blushing hard, I shiver when Daphne runs her fingers along my neck, “How can we forget our astonishment at you walking around with the beginnings of this dragon constellation.” 

_Stepping out of the wizarding entrance of Tin-Tin Tatouage in Paris for the last time, I glance back up at Tin-Tin, prepared to say goodbye, before I make my way to the Ministry for my return Portkey to Cartagena. I pause in my goodbye when I see him looking over my shoulder. I follow his gaze and gasp as I see Draco across the street. He is standing there, eyes darting between Tin-Tin and me, holding a small bouquet of pink ambrosia, white daffodils, and flax flowers._

_I froze, my intellectual mind focusing first on assessing the flowers and their meanings, while my body attempted to comprehend his sudden appearance._

_It had been three years since we first started seeing each other, two years and four months since I said ‘I love you,’ and three months since I had convinced him to tell me the artist who had tattooed his Lioness. Although he never shied away from showing me how much he loved me, he had yet to utter the sentiment or allude to it beyond actions._

_I dragged my eyes up to him once again and heard Tin-Tin chuckle behind me, “I shoud ‘ave ‘nown you two habitants de l’île know eachozer, ze way you chat of the ozer.” I smiled bashfully at Tin-Tin, repeating my thanks, as he sent Draco a friendly wave, loudly proclaiming he expected to see both of us back for more ink as he closed the door behind him._

_Quickly crossing the street, I stared back down at the flowers as he shuffled his feet. “Draco,” I breathed out as I took in his open expression, nervous energy, and shaking hands._

_“I feel like I should regret relinquishing the spells necessary to set a Portkey to a magical signature rather than a location,” I say as I take a few steps closer to him. “But knowing you can show up wherever I am is just making this distance all the easier.”_

_“Charm me shocked when I expected to arrive in Cartagena, ready for the beach and sun,” he chuckles, waving at his south of the equator ensemble, “and show up in magical Paris as_ _you_ _step out of this magical tattoo parlor.” He reaches, tugging me closer._

_“I am sure your brilliant mind made the connection, but these are for you, and I would like to take you somewhere that will further explain their significance. However, I am not sure if my surprise should go first or whatever you received from Tin-Tin should?” He eyed me mischievously._

_“HA, no way. This is your show. I am but a surprised passenger. Allons-y!” I conclude with a slap to his delicious arse. I take the beautiful flowers from him and pull him down for a kiss as he apparates us away to places unknown._

_We reappear, surrounded by sprawling hills. I gasp at the stone circles to our left, “I know neither of us is willing to rock the boat with your parents, and so even though we’re going to have our friends living with us, I chose this little house because of the Avebury Stone Circles.”_

_He pulled me into the house I barely noticed when I realized how incredibly close we were to such raw magic. “Draco,” I mutter as I turn in place to take in the entrance hall, “this is not little Dragon. This is just smaller than the Manor, but we don’t need this much --”_

_I had thought I knew how this moment would happen. I thought, no matter how much I knew Draco, that he would still want to do this in front of our family and friends. I had predicted with the ladies the many different ways he would propose in a grand and Malfoy-appropriate way. I did not consider it would be on one knee, alone, in an empty house._

_“I am still a healing man. I know you would, and have, argued that you are as well, and perhaps you are right. But Hermione, where you still had courage and faith, I was still distrustful and weary. Where you forgave and allowed me the space to prove myself to you, I was still not letting myself believe my worth. But as stubborn as I am, you are worse, and you forced me to face myself, believe in my worth, and rise above my limited perception. Working hard to be a better me has been worth it because now I can unequivocally tell you I love you. Not the idea of you, or the benefits of you, or the you the world knows, but you and only always you.”_

_I’m nodding my head almost violently. Since the re-building of Malfoy Industries was heavily dependant on Draco re-building himself amongst the English population, I had hoped for a proposal once I called England my permanent home once again. Not with at least three other continents left of our world tour._

_“Yes, yes, there would never be any other possible answer. I told you, I loved you enough then, no matter that you couldn’t say it-”_

_“And I will always be thankful to have found my match in someone as strong-willed and selfless as you. I want this home to be the first of many journeys we take together once the world tour is over. I know, I know you’re not ready for marriage yet, I am not either. I know that you have more time to finish studying around the world, and I know you will feel forced to choose, even if I do not make you between me and your dreams. So please, accept this ring as a promise that I will be there, popping up at every opportune moment, until we are both in a place where choosing each other first isn’t a diminishment of our futures but rather the next right thing.”_

_As he placed the beautiful oval diamond onto my extended finger, I realized it was set into the middle of an infinity loop, surrounded by two outer bands of smaller diamonds wrapping around the oval and extending out in either direction to continue the design._

_To his surprise, I knelt next to him, pushing my sleeveless dress down to my waist. “Before you get too distracted by my chest, you scoundrel,” I give him a quick peck on the lips as I slowly pulled my hair over my left shoulder and lifted my right arm. I showcase the tattoo curled under my breast and side, wrapping around to my back and scaling up parallel to my spine._

_I felt the whisper of fingers gliding over it, the constellation now forever on my skin._

_“I wanted you everywhere with me, too, Dragon, always watching my back.”_

_As his lips descend on the end of the Draco constellation, I feel the virtually transparent dragon the Draco constellation is sitting on come to life. “Fuck, Hermione, my namesake, and a Dragon.”_

_“_ Are you even listening, Mi? Move, move,” and the hands in my hair leave as Pansy grabs my face, “I know that blush, and it is not from discussing Daphne’s frustration with her assistant.”

I am still holding onto the memory. How we proceeded to memorialize the engagement in that entrance hall and then went back to Cartagena, where the party continued for a few days. 

I shake myself, willing my blush down. “Well, no, I,” clearing my throat, “I am sorry you’re having a hard time with Gemma, Daphne. And it’s all your fault if I was forced to remember when Draco proposed and I was able to show him the completed tattoo--”

“Yes, yes, I am sure stripping for him was such a hardship, and remembering it even more so,” Pansy quips back.

A tinkling laugh precedes my mother as she finally joins the festivities. “I would rather not hear about my pure, virgin daughter stripping for anyone, thank you very much,” she scolds as Pansy shares a conspiratorial grin with me before stepping out of the room.

“The mothers have arrived, ladies. It is time to focus on the present and hold off on embarrassing the bride to be, for now,” she turns to wink at me. “Much to the house elves and Cissa’s horror there is a breakfast buffet bar set-up downstairs, and ah, excellent here is Pansy--”

“Your favorite daughter, obviously, for anticipating your every need before you have even to ask,” Pansy interrupts mum in a posh voice as she hands me a plate of all my favorites. 

“My favorite something,” I say, groaning softly at the petite quiche I swallow down. “Yes, you are our favorite house-elf,” I retort as she sticks her tongue out at me.

“As I was saying, eat up, ladies. We have quite a bit to get through before we leave my home. Pip, pip,” Commander Veronica moves to hustle the group of us into action. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am thinking at least 2 more chapters are left but I probably won't be able to upload them for a few days since I am back to real world work plus I am still alpha/beta'ing. 
> 
> Again, EarlGreyPanic's own love story was my muse and Grammarly my homegirl getting me through the missed comma's and run on sentences ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Thank you again for giving this little fluff ball of love a chance!!
> 
> Leave the love and ConCrit, pleaseandthankyou. ॐ


	4. Contemplations and Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn a bit more about the journey our couple has taken as we inch closer to the final walk down the aisle. 
> 
> It's not all sunsets and flowers, or is it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some _caliente_ time up ahead, readers. 
> 
> Minors, steer clear. 
> 
> Also - what is self-control?
> 
> Enjoy ☮ ✌

The room is quiet as mum affixes her veil around my low, purposefully messy chignon. 

Pansy steps up with the Gaia-inspired hair wreath, securing it on the crown of my head with a few, barely audible spells. Pushing my bangs back, “I still insist you should have let me work with Firenze and his mate on this. But it does suit you so,” she squeezes my hands tight, leaving something in them before stepping back with a soft smile on her face. 

I look down at the box Draco sent over this morning. Prying the lid open, “Oh, Draco.” My fingers tremble slightly as I pick up the gift. Two perfect, glittering diamond studs are holding up various lengths of tight, white gold chains sprinkled with smaller diamonds placed at random. 

Fastening my earrings - the last piece of my ensemble for today - I chance a glance at the most important women in my life. 

My eyes widen at the trembling lips and tear tracks running down the typically composed women, “I know, I know. We are all pathetic, but look at you, Mi,” Pansy responds. 

She turns me around slowly, mindful of my veil, and I gasp at the gorgeous woman standing in front of me. I watch my expression morph into a frown almost on its own as I consider where my thoughts have gone. I’m always first to laugh at that moment in literature where the average woman is magically transformed on her wedding day. 

My eyes flick to Daphne’s as she gives a watery snort, “No, Mi, this is not a romance story cliche. In this narrative, you are Jane Nichols or Rachel Chu, receiving what she deserves and looking as we have always seen you - Resplendent.” 

With a deep breath, I look back at myself without the filters of self-doubt, self-consciousness, and self-judgment that barrel through my perception. 

A few perfect spirals are framing my face. With soft make-up and a natural red shining off my lips, my woven crown of forget-me-nots, strings of pearls, and ivy sit as if it genuinely belongs. As I shift my bangs back behind my ear, my mother’s veil halos behind me in its subtle, micro-lace pattern. 

The midday sun sends small prisms every which way off Draco’s gift, which falls barely long enough to kiss the thick lace straps on my shoulders. I run my right hand along the slight, feather-like sleeves jutting off my shoulders and move my fingers to trail along the A-line cut around my décolletage. 

As I turn to thank ‘Vati, the satin ribbon of the waist sash swishes behind me, “‘Vati, the sash is perfect, thank you for all your hard work.” I murmur, willing myself to not cry at the time she put into learning to sew the precious gems via muggle means. 

I twist my ankle as I side-eye Pansy and see her self-satisfied smirk at how well her custom gift fits. A thick white silk strap supports the ball of my foot, my arch sits on a deep white sole, and a white gold snake with emerald green eyes shoots up from the wedge heel wrapping itself thrice around my ankle; my homage to my dragon’s house and heritage. Or as Pansy likes to remind me, the leverage needed to bring Draco to his knees again, but this time in public. 

Biting my lip, I run my hands down the knee length of my lace skirt. My mother’s sniffles break my quiet perusal. With a deep breath, I look back up into watery gazes. 

“Thank Merlin for setting charms,” I laugh as they dry their eyes, thankful that I could swallow down my tears. 

The love of these women thoroughly humbles me. 

As if summoned by the tears of his daughter, my father enters the room as we set ourselves to rights.

“Angel,” dad chokes out, eyes widening as he takes me in. He coughs a few times until he gives up the pretense as Pansy leans against his shoulder, handing him his a tissue. 

After clearing his throat and wiping away the evidence of his emotions, he continues, “you are,” shaking his head, “the bibliophile has no words!” he shrugs with a smile of adoration. 

“Obliquely, I knew this day would come after Draco asked for your hand--”

Mouth attempting to form words, I finally stutter out, “Draco knew to reach out to you? Draco, asked you?”

Can my heart expand any further for that man? 

He bites his lip, a habit I picked up from him, as he looks between myself and mum.

“Oh. He did more than that. Draco sent us a dinner invitation via muggle post - perhaps a year before he proposed, V?” He looks to mum for confirmation. “Sounds right, six months into the World Tour while you were still in Europe,” she agrees.

“Draco set us up in the private Garden Room at Luca in London. We,” mom joins him with a chuckle, “expected the typical bumbling, similar to my sit down with V’s parents. Instead, he waxed poetic about his past and how he knew we agreed that he didn’t deserve you, how worthy you were of everything, and how he would work every day to provide it even if we didn’t give him our blessing.”

“Thank Godric for setting charms,” I mock myself, eyes skyward as I attempt to stem the flow of incredulity with my fingers. I never asked Draco for this. I realized early on that betrothal contracts are commonplace amongst the Wizarding elite and, therefore. The little girl in me had been giddy when he had gotten down on one knee all those years ago; something Pansy will never let us forget. 

However, being of the more academic sort, I had hardly given thought to my future wedding. As a young adult then, it had been easy to set aside these smaller traditions, especially knowing expectation leads to suffering. I always felt they are non-essential in the grander scheme of our love story. But now knowing that he  had asked for my hand a year before he asked me, and my father said yes. Well, who could blame a bride to be?

With a soft smile dad wipes under my eyes with his handkerchief, while lamenting, “As I insisted on muggle transportation instead of magical, I’d be remiss in also showing up late to your big day.” 

Chuckling slightly to himself as I let the ladies set me to rights, “And realizing that Draco respected Muggle traditions that we hold dear and hasn’t boasted to you? Well, I just cannot, in good conscience, keep my son-in-law waiting. We have an hour trip up north to The Cottage, so let’s go, Princess.”

Laughing, I give meaningful goodbyes to the ladies who have made the past 6 hours fly by in a blur of memories, tears, embarrassing anecdotes, and joy. 

“Plus,” dad adds, sending a wink mum’s way, “your mother and Pansy would flay me with and without magic if I get you there late.” 

With the tinkering of laughter behind us, and after extracting myself from everyone’s embrace once more, dad leads me into the back seat of his other baby, David Granger’s 1970 DB6 Aston Martin. 

* * *

Narcissus’s bi-polar tendencies aside, I had left last night thrilled with the way The Cottage looked for the ceremony. 

However, as I sip on an ice-cold shot of Blanco Del Valle Aguardiente, a potent, anise-flavored liquor from Colombia, I am amazed at how much _better_ The Cottage now seems. 

No, it isn’t apparent to the casual observer, but to someone who works tirelessly with a decorating team on getting every detail perfect, I just know. 

Draco, for all his amazing qualities, is a firm proponent of working smarter, not harder or simply put, lazy. After a lifetime of house-elves and magic, there was little shock when I realized this. But then, he does things that remind me once again of how much work he puts into what matters.

The flower arrangements are more robust. I raise a hand to my flower headband when I realize he’s added blue forget-me-nots and ivy along the aisle. 

The jars of sunburst disguised as spherical lights have shifted to shine brighter when clouds cover the afternoon sun and when the sunsets. 

The seat coloring has shifted from their previous pearl white to very pale pink, matching my color scheme better than I expected. 

However, the most meaningful change that clues me into Draco casting these improvements and not another staff member is the garden parallel to the ceremony. It is still glistening as if the morning dew has yet to disperse, even hours after dawn has broken. 

I loved sitting out in these gardens early in the morning with Draco, when the dew was fresh on the flowers, a slight fog glistening close to the ground, and the rest of the house asleep. We were our most vulnerable then, talking freely about the past and our future. The Cottage was a fantastic temporary home after Draco had gifted The Avebury to Blaise and Pansy when they married in January 2003. 

Being the closest to London, our open-door policy had a constant parade of guests staying over at any one time; the two of us, Harry, Parvati, Daphne, and Theo, the only permanent residents. 

The Cottage stopped feeling like home, however less than a year in when Narcissa asked to stay for a long weekend. Citing issues with Lucius, we were happy to oblige, but she hadn’t left two months later. 

For the first time in 5 years, our group split up, men in one flat, and ladies in another, when Narcissa’s toxic personality became too much. She hadn’t always been bad; at the beginning of our relationship, Narcissa was the mother I didn’t have. 

When Draco and I had first started seeing each other, she was at our side while our most significant opposition was, unsurprisingly, Lucius. However, when I worked throughout 2002 for his permanent release from Azkaban as his solicitor, his forced interactions became more genuine as time went on. We are not bosom buddies, but I trust him just as surely as he trusts me. I have gone to him many a time when I want to wring his son's neck instead. I have it on good authority that Draco seeks refuge with my parents as well. 

Most everyone believes that is the turning point for Narcissa. She wrongly assumed that Draco was with me to elevate the Malfoy name once again. Once achieved, she found the next natural step for her, and her son was to let me go with a box full of memories and a firmly closed door to my face. 

So although I loved The Cottage, I had always pictured our ceremony at The Abbotsbury Castle, surrounded by the rolling hills of Dorset. The last hurrah in my favorite location before we bequeath it to Lucius. 

After much discussion, we have decided to make the Manor in Wiltshire our home rather than The Castle. Some traditions are simply too embedded, too important to break. 

I spot Narcissa standing silently by the champagne tower down below, neutral sneer firmly in place, as her eyes follow Lucius talking to various guests. I had hoped acquiescing to the ceremony here would smooth her out some for Draco’s sake today. The only concession I had been willing to make for another on this day. 

I haven’t told Draco yet, but I have been speaking to a few squib psychiatrists hoping that they may have the answers to bring her back to us whole again. Draco thinks she is just more prejudiced than we believed, but I cannot let go of the Narcissa that held me while my parents healed, while we all healed.

_I wiped a tear as Narcissa laughed at something Draco said with Pansy and Daphne by the fountain. I am thankful he is enjoying himself on his birthday even if it’s tinged with the reality that my presence shifts Narcissa’s temperament for the worst._

_I felt a presence sidle up next to me as I contemplated going back inside, barely registering his attempts at conversation. “It is a shame that the Muggles only see the remains of this Castle. Should you decide to make Wiltshire your home once bonded, I will happily take this gem off your hands, even with all the muggles constantly riding those two-wheeled things on the perimeter of the wards.”_

_Huffing out a sigh at my dramatics, “Do you normally ignore conversation and stand in the background of events you throw for my son, Ms. Granger?”_

_My Gryffindor subtlety reared its head, as I chuckled softly, “Mmmm, did Cissa ever, I don’t know, discuss how she perceived me, Lucius?” At his raised brow and sharp remark for my impertinence, I continued quickly, “Only, in the last two and a half years, since you left Azkaban really, she is,” I ran my left hand up and down my right inner arm, “she is different. She is getting progressively more aggressive.”_

_I felt him eyeing my hand movements and quickly dropped them to my sides._

_“Ms. Gr-” my brow quirked up, “-Hermione. My relationship with Narcissa was fractured sometime before I originally turned spy for your Order. However, she was always very dedicated to Draco, and when you entered his life, she was also very dedicated to you - in her writings.” I nod, thankful that it wasn’t as fake as she has been making it seem._

_“I wouldn't presume these days on the inner workings of her mind, but if I am forced to speak frankly, I would suggest you accept that perhaps she did not believe this relationship would be as steadfast to this day.”_

_I winced as I faced Lucius, the pain that idea brings me easily read on my face. “I didn’t want to realize at first that she was treating me, specifically, differently. But her comments are now more biting. It’s now more than me overstaying my welcome, being such a helpful_ _friend_ _to Draco, or how thoughtful Draco and Pansy have been to help ‘someone like me’ make a name for myself.” I finished quietly, allowing the ends of his hair that flowed freely in the coastal breeze from his leather strap, distract me for a moment._

_Sighing deeply, he eyes me remorsefully before facing the festivities again, “She did so much to protect him when I - could not. The Dark,” he corrects, “Riddle - was unerringly set in breaking my family, Hermione. He wanted Draco marked and suffering for my perceived sins, he wanted my dignity and influence as a thing of the past, but he wanted my wife most. Antonin was able to tell me some of what he saw while I was indisposed.” I see him shiver slightly, “That monster wanted the consummate Pureblood wife—beauty, name, wit, and influence. In the same way that Riddle would invade Mr. Potter’s mind, he attempted to invade my wife’s every moment. But that leaves a mark different than the marks on our left arms.”_

_I placed my hand lightly against his upper arm, thankful he did not flinch this time, “I don’t think she ever had the time and space to heal from that.” I glanced back at Narcissa, starting when I saw her calculating gaze on us, “Her behavior is toxic, but I find it hard to accept that this is how she has always felt towards me.”_

_“Mmmm. Stubborn Gryffindor. Let’s go remind everyone that you are here to stay, shall we?” He said, silver-blue gaze never leaving Narcissa, who was more intent on our conversation than those in her immediate vicinity._

_Chuckling, I looped my arm through his, as he escorted me down the beautiful back steps of our most recent acquisition - Abbotsbury Castle just east of the West Bay in Dorset._

* * *

_His arms pulled me more firmly into him as we were finally left alone in the grassy patio of The Castle._

_“Father said he would be talking to mother. Even if she truly believes I could ever set you free, he knows you are here to stay.” He kissed my temple as I relaxed further back into him._

_“I just hope she doesn’t use this as another point of contention with me next time we see her,” I sigh. He hums as we sat in silence, enjoying the pallet of sunset cloaking the sky._

_“I was thinking of that story you were reading the other night.”_

_“Mmmm,” I responded as I shifted slightly within his arms to look up at him._

_“Mmmhm, the Dystopian one. If the Protagonist finally had a way to escape, and her owner-”_

_“Savior, really, Draco-”_

_“Perspective, love. If her jailor helped her uncover the means to escape - why would she stay after finally tasting freedom? If she knew he was ready to accept whatever befell him as long as she was free, safe, and with ‘her side,’ preferably far away from war, why did she instead chain herself to him again?”_

_“I think safe and free are relative terms, Draco. Perhaps he is now her safety, her home, and leaving him behind is a disservice to the love, time, and compassion he has shown her in his own ways. But more than that, how can you expect her to leave when the love they have for each other transcends the concept of freedom, especially in a dystopian reality?”_

_Shifting to straddle him and face this conversation head-on, I watch the parallel’s Draco draws in his mind’s eye to these fictional characters. “Draco - if I thought, for one second, that I could leave you and still feel whole, I would have done it ages ago. But you have imprinted in me so deeply, so wholly, that I would do as the Protagonist did. Rechain myself to you a million times as long as I knew we would be together and continue to face whatever comes, with you and our families.”_

_He kissed my temple, calloused hands gliding up and down on my thighs, “I can’t believe you're still here sometimes.”_

_I huffed ready to argue, “I know, I  _ _know_ _, how you feel about this, but Lioness, you have been around the world-”_

_“- with your help and support, you dummy -” I managed to throw in._

_“- you have had two successful careers before you turned 25, and still, you come back to me. You were unwilling to abandon me while you were reconnecting to your parents, you love my mother as completely as you love your own, you fought for my father, so I too could have the joy of a whole family, and you put up with my friends, making them your own.”_

_I shook my head unhappy to do this with him again tonight, on his 25th birthday in this beautiful new home we bought with the group. Rising myself slightly on my knees to buy myself some time to respond with love rather than frustration, I see the rolling hills of Dorset and the English Channel doused in reds and golds. I gaze back at him, soaking up the details of the man I love in those same reds and golds._

_“We have spent more galleons on real estate than anyone else our age, just to satisfy my urges of beautiful views and archaic rules in both cultures that we cannot live alone until we wed. You have allowed me to love you in every way I know how and never let me second guess that it wasn’t enough or that I loved you incorrectly. And really Draco,” I whispered against his ear, “why would I unchain myself to a man whom I call Dragon?” punctuating my question with a deep roll of my hips into him._

_His hands, previously frozen on my thighs, quickly found purchase under my dress to attempt to push me back down onto his awakening member._

_Biting my lip, I shook my head as I trailed my finger down his angular face, catching his bottom lip before I continued its path, shuffling off of his lap and onto the soft grass below me._

_“I don’t know if you realize this Draco, but as much as the world comments on who I am and who I am with, you continue to hold top place in Witch Weekly’s most fit Wizard under 30,” he grunts at the huskiness of my voice as I worked to remove his member from the confines of his trousers and pants. “You are the man who had a center spread in Entrepreneur Today and GQ. A billionaire coming seemingly out of nowhere, but sorry ladies, he’s taken,” I purr possessively before I lick the underside of him, following the thickening vein from base to tip._

_Groaning, he runs a finger down my face; mouth slackened as I continue my teasing assault on his shaft. He fans his fingers out, collecting as much of my hair as possible as I moved back up to his swollen tip._

_Grinding my hips against nothing, I took in the leaking pleasure from his tip, moaning at the tightening against my scalp. He’s gotten impatient; I know that I am going to give whatever he can take, especially tonight, but he rarely lets me go this slow as I cherished the salty taste of him._

_Glancing back up at his glazed gaze, pupils ever-widening, I swiped my tongue under his tip one last time before taking him as deeply as possible. He twitched in my mouth, “Fuck babe,” as I loosened my throat, breathing in through my nose slowly, and took him down until my lips rested against his trimmed pubic hair._

_“I can’t, Hermione, I won’t,” I groaned my consent, knowing what he needed, as I hollowed my cheeks on the rise up and took him down to the hilt just as quickly. My hands were gripping his thighs tightly, wishing I had been patient enough to divest him of his trousers._

_He lets out a litany of curses as we began to fuck my face._

_The light echo of our harsh breaths, his indistinguishable curses, muffled groaning on my way down and lewd slurping on my way up - fill the air around us. When his hand shifted to rest along my neck, my throat immediately attempted to close. His hands spasm around me, holding me down as I contract around his head._

_“Circe, this is almost as delicious as when your sweet pussy clenches around me. Are you wet babe, are you soaked knowing that your mouth is full of me instead of your cunt?”_

_I choked, my airways blocked, as I attempted to moan through his filthy words. He finally relents, ripping my head off him, scarcely taking a moment to breathe before I am on him again. His hands returned to my head, gently rubbing my scalp while my hands continued the assault on his sex._

_I lowered myself to his balls with harsh breaths, slowly taking one into my mouth then the other, sucking and swirling as he huffs above me._

_I switched my mouth back to the base of his cock as my right-hand whirled up and around his tip, relishing in the way his thighs jumped under my chest and toes curled by my knees._

_My other hand took residence on his balls, massaging them like my lucky pair of dice as my thumb slowly rubbed his perineum._

_His right-hand left the confines of my hair, “fuuuuuck, Hermione,” slapping the armrest, “Hermione, I cannot,” knuckles turning white as his other hand pulled his hair tightly, “babe, don’t stop, can’t breathe.”_

_I watched his Adam's apple bob up and down, breath stuttering as I slurped loudly. Sucking hard, I am leaving purple love bites to contrast against his light-colored dick when his eyes finally snapped back down to mine._

_I felt his balls pull taunt, and I released my hand on his tip to take him back into the wet cavern of my mouth. I began a punishing rhythm as I tore through my throat muscles and felt the rising heat of his cock, his hardness sharpened to rounded steel, and then he painted the back of my aching throat with his seed._

_I tried to swallow him down quickly, but my reflexes were slowed down by my enthusiastic deep throating. I slowly let him fall out of my mouth and felt the last twitch of his seed roll down my chin._

_Wiping his come onto my finger, I sucked it off without a thought as I blinked owlishly up at his head thrown onto the back of the bench._

_“Divesto,” he whispered, and I yelped as his half-lidded eyes appraised my nude form, kneeling before him. I shivered as the slight June breeze danced over my overheated skin._

_He completed the same spell for himself as he urged me back into his arms and I placed my lips against him greedily, feeling his softened cock against my aching sex, welcoming the warmth that only comes from skin to skin contact_

_Careful to not grind myself down on him yet, I know he feels how wet pleasuring him has made me._

_He untangled his fingers from my wild hair, stopping to massage my throat lightly, and I prepared myself for a possessive hold when he surprised me whispering, “disinflamare.”_

_“Thank you, love,” I managed, sounding like a lovesick fool._

_“Aftercare is the least I could do after that performance. Was that my birthday gift, Lioness?”_

_I shook my eyes free of adoration as I squinted at his boyish grin, “You mean, in addition to the party, the business trip turned short vacation to Korea, and my general presence?” I relented, giggling, “Of course it was, Lord Malfoy shouldn’t be thinking of what he doesn’t deserve and instead be reminded of what he does have, what he’s forever chained to.”_

_“I see where your fantasies lie. I knew I shouldn’t have let you get so close to my father, Lord Malfoy, I am but the simple heir of Malfoy.”_

_I stopped chuckling when I noticed the odd look in his eyes as he brought my face inches from his, “I would never let you be free of me like that schmuck in the story,” he said into my lips before tilting his head to snog me properly._

_I swelled with emotions as his tongue sought entrance into my mouth. We tangled tongues and breath as I felt him harden under me._

_“I love you too, baby, so so much,” I whisper between butterfly kisses, moving to nibble his earlobe and proceed to nip along his sharp jaw and thick neck as his hands run over every inch of exposed skin._

_Relishing in the feel of our hearts beating at the same rapid pace, I rolled my hips against him. I am focused on sucking the skin of his neck into my mouth, my clit sliding against his hardening length, and my nipples rubbing against his broad chest. I barely noticed his hands sneaking down my torso, slipping, palm up, under the front of my thighs, and grasping tight as I am lifted._

_With barely a tremble in his upper arms, his mouth latched interchangeably onto my deprived nipples. My thighs are quaking in this high squat, head was thrown back as I relished the attention to my chest. Continuing his light torture, head rocking side to side above him, I tried and grasp onto his upper back with my sharp nails. He increased the strength of his sucks as I blindly latched onto him and then earned himself a guttural groan as he bit hard on my peak forcing my head forward, eyes back on him._

_His gaze flashed as he soothes my nipple with this tongue in slow circles then sucked the skin directly next to it, leaving a dark mark in its wake and repeating the process to the other. I’d have been drooling if my mouth wasn’t so dry from my sharp inhales at the onslaught of the pleasured pain. I pushed his fringe back to better see his perfect mouth work me over._

_As he picks up the intensity of his sucking, I’m once again bucking against air, “Draco, Draco, Draco, please pull me closer,” I’m whimpering, knowing I’d cross into the blessed unknown if my clit can just get traction against his chest._

_With a practiced grace at disregarding my heated pleas, he smirks devilishly, leaving one final kiss on my swollen nipple before slowly kissing his way to my sternum. His open-mouthed kisses followed a path only he knows under my breasts and down my body as I rise even higher._

_My gaze was temporarily arrested on the unobstructed view of the darkening greens and blues as I blindly grabbed for his hair, trying to place my toes firmly on either side of him. I squeaked as he squeezed my arse with his right hand, before sliding up to curve around my upper thigh from behind, fingers precariously close to my sex, and left hand fully supporting my arse._

_He squeezed me, “Look at me, Hermione.” My head shot down, unable to ignore the silent and spoken command. “Good girl, don’t worry, I’ve got you.” My brows furrowed until he slowly pushed my tailbone in, forcing my hips up, back hunched forward, and offering himself my soaking cunt like one would a chalice filled with, “the nectar of the Gods, Lioness.”_

_I almost came then with the words he whispered against my clit, loud enough for me to hear, the black eyes that had yet to leave mine, the full-body shiver that left my skin puckered, unattributable to the light breeze filtering around us._

_“Please baby,” I whispered as he let his breath blow and tease against me. My soul thirsted for the sensations only he could call forth from me, and then I dropped my chin to my chest, hunching over as he licked up my slit, placing force against my clit._

_He continued to lap up and down, teasing my clit, nibbling my lips, sucking on my opening, and rimming my arse as I whispered prayers to the Olde Gods for this man in a language as old as time._

_My eyes opened as he sucked the skin directly above my clit, leaving another love bite, barely registering the beauty of the rolling hills shrouded in the early evening light around us as my body began jerking. I am mad with need, pulling my hair into my left hand, while my right returned to his own, hoping to pull him closer as I watched him devour me, unable to thrust with the steel hold he had on my hips._

_Feeling my gaze, his eyes twinkled with devilment as he bit down on my clit, flicking it much faster than tongues should be able to move, and “OH SALAZAR,” I screeched into the air as I came with shattering intensity. My head is thrown back, back-arching, praying he holds me tight. “Draco, Draco, Draco, Draco,” I am panting as he finally releases my clit._

_He brings his hand down, causing me to shriek for a different reason as I feel myself tilt forward. But his mouth is still on me, just above my clit, and I’m balanced between the hand on my arse and his face, my legs still too weak to pretend I have been helping him hold me up._

_Assuming he would be letting me down, I gasped as two long fingers entered me, his tongue lightly laving around the hood of my clit._

_I heard a deep raspy groan surround me and realized, belatedly, that it was my own as my walls finally had something to grasp onto._

_“Yes, please,” I whispered to the setting sun, “please baby, just like that.”_

_I feel his harsh breath against my clit, his left fingers spasming against my arse, never letting up on his assault of my passage, “once more baby, come for me one more time, and I’ll let you ride this cock until the sun sets.”_

_“I can’t, Draco, mmm, so close,” I am whimpering, flames spreading from my belly button outwards, “be a good girl, Hermione, and come on my fingers,” he slips another finger into my cunt, finding that spot that alludes my own smaller hands, “now.”_

_“Dra-ungggggggg,” I shutter as my upper body folds into itself, full-bodied seizing, as I come with the force of fiendfyre._

_He brings me back down, kissing his way back up my torso, and I run my tongue lazily against his mouth, shoving myself in, tasting my release._

_He smacked my arse, once, twice, three times as I threw my head back, unsure if I can handle any more stimuli. My hips continued spasming from my climax when I felt the heat of his member against my sex pulsing for attention once again._

_Sucking air through my teeth, I forced strength back into my quivering thighs as I lifted myself enough to grab onto him and stroked once, twice, urged onward with his teeth nipping at my neck._

_I startled both of us as I shifted and impaled myself quickly._

_We keened as I began to rise and fall, running my hands up, pushing his hair off his sweat-slicked skin, as we both worked to catch our breath._

_Arms draped over his shoulders, “That’s right Dragon, this is where you belong. With me, no one else, no other man, no other partner, will ever fill me the way you do.” I underlined, picking up my pace to ride him with abandon, shifting my hips into figure eights as I fall._

_“Just me, yeah?” He grits out as he cradles my breasts in his hands, thumbs running over the greedy peaks. Looking back up at me, “I told, I told GQ, that you were it for me,” he huffed out between my punishing pace, “they begged for a wedding invitation. Power couple like us should make front pages everywhere, with the wizarding division_ _thrilled_ _to report and make it muggle friendly for both editions.”_

_I groaned as I closed my eyes and tried to picture our wedding through the fog of him. The high coastal walls of Abbotsbury, beautiful soft colors, early summer weather, but I can’t see past an intimate, muggle friendly bonding. Surely not one that would keep busybodies like GQ and Witch Weekly entertained._

_Noticing my hips slowing down, Draco angled my face back to him. “I told them - look at me, babe,” I opened my eyes to see a gleam in his, worrying my lower lip as my mind raced. “I told them that we would be having a small intimate ceremony in a few years, but we will be having a much larger ceremony after being officially bonded. We would be happy to offer an invitation at that time.” He brushed my lip away from my teeth as I tried to keep up with my shallow thrusts. “I know what will make us both happy, and no one will ruin our intimate bonding.”_

_I squeezed my walls tightly around his prick and kissed him tenderly, feeling a single tear roll down my flushed cheeks._

_With a peck to the tears track, he gripped my arse as he lowered us to the ground. I mumbled a quick cushioning charm as I dragged a hand from his temple to his heart, “This is why I will remain chained to you like she is to him. Both of us had a choice, and we do so willingly. I am allowing myself to make a life that I deserve with you.”_

_His hands clamped tightly around my waist, leaving me shivering from the imminent bruising, “Fuck Hermione,” and he’s thrusting into me, forsaking the tenderness of the previous moment._

_“Take all of me, little witch. I am going to fill you up. I want to hear you scream for me, don’t hold back, okay?” I nodded, panting into the crook of his neck as he continued his exquisite assault on my pussy._

_“Yes, there!” I cried out when he angled my hips up, hitting my G-spot and grazing my cervix perfectly._

_“I’m so close. Do you think you can come with me, babe?” he huffed against my cheek, tongue flicking out to caress my ear lobe._

_“Mmmm, yes, please, together, my Dragon. I am so close, so so close,” I whimpered as I inched my fingers down my torso to my clit. With a groan, as I chase my pleasure, Draco finds the strength to pound us together even faster. After a few quick flicks of my nub, I am cresting over the setting sun and into twilight with him._

_He emptied inside me, cock pulsing in rhythm with my walls._

_I’m wrapped around him tightly as our breath and hearts stuttered to a more natural pace, relishing in the silence of the coast and the cooling of our sweaty skin._

_“FINALLY,” we heard, “good for you, Dragon, _ _” Theo intoned dramatically, “getting her there three times, but fucking Salazar, can’t you take it INSIDE.” I felt my cheeks burning red as Draco began to shake over me._

_“Shut up, you prude,” Pansy screeched from another direction, “it’s his birthday, and Mi was no slouch either down there on her knees. How are those grass stains, Granger?”_

_“Oh Merlinnnnn, babe,” I squeaked against a guffawing Draco._

A knock on the doorframe has me down the rest of the shot, cast a quick freshening charm on myself and my breath, and turn into the waiting arms of my father. 

* * *

Shaking my head, I try and catch Harry’s eye as my overactive mind takes me back to the beginning once again. 

After 13 hours of sleep on May 3, 1998, I began to consider what it would take to make myself happy now that Harry had won and was safe; my world was safer; I made it out alive. I knew what the wizarding contingency expected of The Brightest Witch of Her Age, but Harry and I had promised the other to follow our bliss - fuck expectations - if we made it beyond the other side of the war. 

I realized that, once the dust settled, the Ministry didn’t feel right. Living up to the expectations of complacent men and women who hid while we fought for them didn’t bring me joy, but the idea of traveling did. Although a firm direction still eluded me, I knew to visit the many beautiful, magical, and muggle communities around the world filled me with a giddiness I hadn’t felt in much too long. 

I was ready to use my name productively as the sheer potential of all I could learn and see would hopefully guide me towards the right future career. 

I was preparing to do it alone. I knew my Harry thought he craved stability and peace and had hoped he could find that in England. It was unexpected then, when Harry entered unannounced, saw the many maps and reference texts that were strewn around, listened to my plan, and demanded I make room for another. 

It was the beginning of the end of our friendship with Ron and, by extension, the youngest and oldest of the Weasleys. Ron was already frustrated that Harry wouldn’t be enrolling in Auror Training and instead going back to Hogwarts with me. Our short-lived romance that began and ended May 2nd allowed him to blame me at every turn for twisting his dreams around [read: away from him]. 

When we hesitantly brought this idea to him, Ron couldn’t understand why we would leave when we were suddenly exalted heroes and found one more reason to spit ugly falsities at me around the dinner table. When Harry and I were forced to explain our plans post-Hogwarts further, his family couldn’t understand why we felt we would find happiness outside of England. As imagined, the biggest argument was why I would be forcing, poor, exhausted Harry, away from them. Ginny demanded he choose, and well, she’s not here today, is she? 

Excluding Harry, no one, but Ginny especially, understood my budding relationship with Draco so soon into the school year. Those early years, 8th year especially, could have been filled with so much more anguish and turmoil. Instead, the Slytherins, deciding to abandon the vicious cycle perpetuated for generations, worked hard to gain my forgiveness for years of torment and indifference. 

They spent time answering my many questions about what it meant for them to be a Pureblood, grow up in that world, and how different each of their experiences was. In turn, they worked very hard to cultivate an open mind as I slowly opened up about my own life amongst the other 98% of the world. 

I feel an echo of longing in my heart that Ron didn’t remain in our lives. We had tried, but once I ‘betrayed Dumbledore’ by dating Draco and Harry, keeping Ginny at arm’s length despite her very obvious and sometimes embarrassing attempts, began to show open interest in Parvati, Ron was ready to be the Golden Solo. 

Slowly, we experienced more no-shows to previously agreed upon meetups, even inviting him to various points around the world we felt he would enjoy during the World Tour. However, when each time he wouldn’t show a slanderous article would appear in The Daily Waste, we grew suspicious. 

We confronted him, and he was unwilling to choose us over his jealousy and ‘ruined post-war expectations’. It was then that we realized, with less sadness than expected, that his friendship would become a fond memory, taking a back seat to our future. 

I am shaken out of my reverie as Pansy shoves Blaise’s hands away from her plunging maid of honor gown.

Harry catches my eye as he holds his wife's hand tenderly. ‘I know,’ he mouths, sending me an understanding grin as if he knows what I am thinking. 

And perhaps he does; his wedding to Parvati last year held the same missing redheads. 

Regardless of who is missing, Harry and I got lucky. We have surrounded ourselves with people there for us. We have cultivated lifelong friends with a connecting thread with very little to do with Dark Lords and mostly to do with the adventure of growing into adulthood. 

The fluttering pixies are doing a number on my insides as I watch Pansy and Blaise argue quietly over which foot to step with first. Gazing at the next pair, I quickly shake my head. If Daph’s blush is anything to go by, I don’t want to know what Theo is whispering into her ear. She has very little reason to blush anymore after all the dirty things those two get up to. 

I see Harry give the signal that Lucius is waiting for and prepare myself to hear the first notes of our chosen songs. 

_“You know, you’re making this decision harder than it needs to be, Draco. Herms has given you the answer with her muggle brainwashing of these shows.”_

_“Nott, I will kick you out of our wedding if you call me Herms again!”_

_“Theo, she will kick you out of our wedding if you call her that again!”_

_“Jinx!”_

_“Jinx!”_

_“You owe me a shot!”_

_“You owe me a shot!”_

_“Noooooo, not this again,” Theo groaned, throwing kernels of popcorn at us, as we laughed so hard we spilled our popcorn._

_“What was the purpose of bringing up Hermione’s muggle ways, Theo?” shooting Harry a thankful grin, I turn my attention back to my fiancé as he pulls my legs back onto his lap and flicks lazily through The Office episodes._

_Gesturing to the television, Theo said, “Those muggle ways are the inspiration! Why don’t you two use the theme songs of our two most beloved shows?”_

My breath hitches, a smile of the memory lingering on my face as the first 5 notes of  Avatar: The Last Airbender begins to play. 

I take a deep breath; almost time. 

As Teddy the reluctant [read: I’m too old for this] ring bearer and Victoire my ecstatic [read: Only if I can wear a pink dress, Aunt Mi] flower girl, move forward to being their walk, the pixies in my abdomen transform into a Ukrainian Ironbelly and start to revolt. 

I smile gratefully as dad squeezes my trembling hand lightly. 

I take these last few moments to reach out across the seat of guests with my magic. I know it’s silly, but it centers me to confirm my notice-me-not and illusionary charms are holding. Charms necessary to either distract or distort the magic on display from our muggle guests.

As dad places one last kiss against my knuckles, the violinist transitions Avatar into The Office Theme Song. 

It takes a moment for the guests to realize that this is the song for my processional. I feel my stomach settle as I hear some of the attendees give soft chuckles as they stand. With one final look at my father, we appear at the end of the aisle. 

As whiskey brown clashes with steeled silver, one thought ‘ _bombardas_ ’ through my nerves -

 **This is it**. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALMOST there. 
> 
> I like to dedicate this story to my all-time favorite song, Despacito. We are inching to the finish line my friends, but like the song, I hope it is worth the wait. It was not originally my intention to make this love story so bleeding long, but alas, my muse had other plans. 
> 
> This chapter was rough for me so I apologize if anyone was waiting too long beyond EGP who has been so so so patient. Between getting called back into work and losing so much free time, to putting myself in the mindset of a woman going down on a man without writing cheesy porno, it was tricky. 
> 
> I hope I did it justice, both in emotions and in the smut scenes. Please direct all thanks to the smut to our dear friend Kiwi, without her, this would have been a smut free chapter! 
> 
> I also wanted to highlight that I did take some artistic licenses here as Crazy, Rich Asians - Rachel Chu - wasn't penned until the original publishing date of June 2013, however, 27 dresses was released in theatres January 2008 so that one is safe. 
> 
> I also alluded to a story that I adore right now but since I did not get permission to name is specifically, use your imagination if you cannot gather what story Hermione and Draco are discussing at the start of the smut scene. xoxo It's my homage to the update I could not read until I posted this chapter. :)
> 
> I'll see you all in another few days! 
> 
> Remember - Grammarly is my Queen, no Alpha/Beta here so be kind :D 
> 
> Please, please, let me know what you think! 
> 
> ConCrit appreciated ॐ


	5. I promise...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With love and magic thrumming in the air, we get to enjoy the wedding night and all the drama that would come with it. 
> 
> Thankfully, our couple gets to enjoy drama-free alone time, once it is all said and done, 900+ miles away from the cottage and unhappy Mother-in-Laws.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! Got distracted in various fests and going back to work. 
> 
> However, my dear friend and inspiration demanded the completion and here we are! Enjoy the love that is thrumming through these two, and the spicy wedding night! 
> 
> Enjoy ☮ ✌

* * *

I startle back to the present moment when calloused familiar hands envelop my own. Looking behind me, wide-eyed, I see my father shooting me a knowing look as he takes his seat. 

I revert my gaze to the small space between my fiance and myself, mesmerized by his thumbs running over my knuckles as the walk from the top of the aisle down to the podium remains a blur. I blink up owlishly at Draco, further shocked when I feel moisture escaping my eyes. Keeping a firm hold on his hands, I bring my wrist up to try and stifle the tears as Draco fails to hold back a chuckle at my expense. 

I let my gaze wander down his fitted black tuxedo jacket with the waistcoat and blush pink button-up peeking out. I have to stifle a moan at how perfectly his trousers are tailored, straining against his inactive member and thick thighs. 

He brings my attention back up to him, and the ceremony at large, with a kiss to my knuckles as he takes what appears to be a slab of walnut from Blaise’s hands. 

With another soft smile, Draco begins to read, and I fight valiantly to not run my fingers over the two pink spots appearing high on his cheekbones. 

"Hermione Jean Granger. I could not have prostrated myself at the feet of Merlin and Anteros and asked for a better woman. 

You are beautiful in stubbornness, you are delectable in laughter, and you are magnificent when you are supporting my every dream and desire. Within reason, though, someone has to keep me from leaking spoiled pureblood everywhere,” our guests chuckle lightly as I send him a bemused smile. 

“I think you are at your most breath-taking, however, when you go after the things you love. 

I will continue supporting you in every undertaking you journey on for the rest of forever. I will be there for the big things like traveling to foreign lands, starting a family, and expanding our empire. I promise to also be there for the small moments like renovating our home, going on your unnecessary forages for potion ingredients, farming succulents for muggles, and reading late into the night. 

I will always be there to  _ relax you _ ,” he over exaggerates his wink to the groans of some of our family, “when you work too hard. I will be there to remind you of your worth, not just to me but the world at large, when external factors make you feel less. 

I promise to hold you tighter when you're sad, be more attentive when you're ill and argue with research and logic when I think you're making a mistake. I give my solemn vow to use every advantage this world has given me, by birth and by name, to ensure your safety, your happiness, and your love for all the time we have together, in this life and the next. 

I will work hard to ensure we don’t go to bed angry, to give us the compassion we deserve to work through tough conversations, but most importantly to always remind us we are not perfect. 

You taught me the value in respecting my past without allowing it to consume me. You taught me to own who I am at present and work towards who I want to be in the future. You taught me that change is the only constant in this mad, mad world, and I promise to ride every shift that comes our way while always reminding us both that our goal has never been perfection, just shining light in darker corners, together.

It took me almost two and a half years to feel confident and worthy enough in who I am to finally tell you how I have loved you since the first date. 

For that reason, I have made it my goal to tell you every day since and I promise to continue to do the same until the stars no longer light the night sky.”

His silver eyes are bright and open as he finally glances back up at me. I bite my lip as I shift the slab of wood to confirm that he had memorialized his words from today, just as I have. 

I try and steady myself on his visage before I am forced to follow his promises with my own. I take in the tight braids he has on either side of his temples, the left braid slightly obscured by the longer hair lying loose on top, waiting for my fingers to run through it. 

"I am pretty sure this was the reason I wanted to go first," there was a smattering of watery chuckles as I wave at the vows etched into the slab of walnut wood. 

With a fortifying breath and a raised brow from Kingsley at my less than subtle stalling tactics, I turn to Pansy as she hands me my own written vows. 

“It seems we had the same idea," I smile up at him waving a golden snitch in the air. Pulling the snitch apart to a collective gasp from the groomsmen and Draco, my vows unfurl like a royal decree. 

“Draco Lucius Malfoy. You taught me to embrace who I am.” I laugh at the groans of our friends, “I know, I know how utterly adolescent that sounds, but it’s true. When I met you, really met you, I was just as lost as any of us trying to find my place in a world where I didn’t have to fight to be in it nor read to escape it. 

You always say I deserve someone who is more wholesome, a cleaner background, a whiter slate than you. I cannot possibly imagine anyone else by my side these past 10 years. I know I deserve someone who stands by my side and pushes me to see bigger, better, grander. I know I deserve a man who reminds me I am strong and will still hold me like I’m glass when I need it. I deserve a partner like you who knows me almost as well as I know myself. 

I promise to spend the rest of our lives loving you as wholly as I did 10 years ago, as you continue to do today. I promise to listen when you try and tell me I am wrong, and then always remind you that I am not. I promise to consider your perspective rather than only imposing my own. 

I promise to value your sharp wit, your cunning business acumen, and the loyalty you have for those lucky enough to be a part of your inner circle. I promise to hold you when nightmares resurface. I promise to remind you of your worth when ignorance breaches our wards. I promise to always learn alongside you. 

I promise to never stop teaching you about my world if you never stop teaching me about yours. I promise to remind you of the value of your youth when we are raising our own children. I promise to hold you close when you are worried you’ll fail and never ever get upset with you when you inevitably do. 

Instead, I promise to always encourage you to try again, just like you have done with me since we were 18. I promise you at least one date night a week, one vacation a quarter, and to make myself available to you as often as possible.”

I smile sheepishly at Draco’s chuckles, knowing if I don’t make this promise I could very well lose myself in work. 

“I promise to continue to support you in your business ventures and your personal projects. I promise to help when I am needed and try really hard to back off when I am not. 

I promise to always reciprocate your ‘I love you’s’ even when I am inevitably upset with you. 

And lastly, I will always work hard to be as worthy of you as the night sky is of the stars.”

With tears streaming down my face I grin broadly first at my almost-husband then to Kingsley, laying a thankful hand on his arm as he discreetly wipes his eyes of his emotions. 

“We are gathered here today,” his booming voice begins after he’s wiped away evidence of his reaction to my vows, “to bring these two individuals together in a bond as old as magic itself. To those who are able, please raise your wands or primary magical conduits and repeat after me…”

I feel a lightness, a deep abiding love that both stems from the bond we have forged for 10 years and from those around us as magic encases us in a bright golden hue. We’re cocooned, separated from the rest of the ceremony, only hearing the deep timber from Kingsley and the varied tones of the guests as they repeat his Latin. 

There's an earth deep pulsing in the air connecting us as Draco brings my hands up to his lips once again. “Look at our bond, Lioness. You’ll be stuck with me forever now,” he whispers against the back of my hands. 

“Didn’t you know Mr. Malfoy, that was my 10-year-plan all along,” I quip back just as reverently before we gasp as the light turns a vibrant white, extending out. Then we feel the snap and crackle of the magic as it reshapes into two solid ribbons connecting us together at the wrists and re-exposing us to the gathered guests. 

“With the rites entrusted to me as Minister of Magic and close friend of the couple before us, I present to you, in accordance with the magic present today, Mr. Draco Lucius Malfoy-Granger and Mrs. Hermione Jean Granger-Malfoy.”

With a breathy, “Finally,” the ribbon fades into our skin, leaving a slight white glow as Draco trails his hands up my arms, pulling me closer and twists me into a dip. He kisses me with so much promise I’m gasping when he releases me. 

Setting me back to rights I am beaming up at my  _ husband _ as the laughter and whistles come back into focus around us. 

“Let’s go take photos we’ll look at for the rest of our lives, Mrs. G-M,” Draco whispers into my ear, fingers curling around my own. 

“Onward Mr. M-G,” I confirm laughing with joy at the jasmine-scented flower petals that rain down as we make our way back up the aisle as a bonded pair. 

With a final squeeze around my waist, Draco is pulled away from me as our eager friends greet us. 

“I can’t believe how bright your bond was, ‘Mione! Luna is never going to let us live this down, she knew it would happen!” Harry moans into my ear. Laughing brightly as he holds me tighter I share an eye-roll with Parvati, “I never second-guessed her, Potter. Why would you? I’m just sad she couldn’t make it to see for herself.” 

“Wedding Party to the gardens, guests continue on through, yes, yes, these grow year-round. Wonderful thing magic. Other guests, please continue on through to the tents on the far end. Thank you, yes just through there.”

“Pansy’s whipping everyone into shape, per usual,” Blaise laughs as he hauls me into his arms, spins me around, and places a wet kiss on my lips. 

“Absolutely not,” Draco barks as he pulls me back into him, wrapping his arms around my waist and chin resting against my crown. 

I tilt my head up, dislodging his chin to smile broadly at him. “Sorry Zabini, our ship has officially sailed.” I close my eyes as I feel Draco’s lips connect with mine again, craning my neck for a better angle when a bright flash across my closed eyes. 

“Stunning, such grace, such love!” and with that, we are whisked away for an hour of torture and poses that I am sure we will appreciate later, much later. 

* * *

“And now let’s welcome long-time best friend of the bride, the man who just wouldn’t die and his better half, Mrs. Potter!” I feel Draco’s arms tighten around me as Harry and Parvati, the last to be called into the tent, are announced leaving us finally alone. 

We take in simultaneous deep breaths when the sound of the party inside is muted by the closing of the tent flap. As I eagerly wait in his arms to hear what song he chose for our entrance song, I allow myself to relax for just a moment more. 

It has been a long hour of being directed, poked, prodded, and posed. At my mother's insistence to go toe to toe with Narcissa, we had hired a muggle photographer alongside a wizard one. I had tried to explain we could essentially freeze magical photos but she didn’t want to hear it. 

Needless to say, the two photographers were rather  _ territorial _ with the type of shots they wanted. 

Smiling, he sways against me as our entrance song begins to play. My eyes widen when I recognize the first few lines of Hey Julie by Fountains of Wayne. Turning quickly in his arms I rest my palm along his sharp jaw, fingers tracing his soft laugh lines as my face reflects the joy at his chosen song and surprise he still remembered it. “Mmmm, I still remember that first Holiday together. 8th Year, your fathers’ Aston Martin, and you introducing me to the joys of Muggle Christmas shopping while we pretended to be nobodies together.”

Closing my eyes I remember the chaos that was begging Draco to trust me behind the wheel for the first time. When he had relaxed under the smooth driving of dad’s car this song came on the radio. The lyrics stuck with us to the point where anytime we entered Muggle London for those first years we used an alias inspired by this very song and the band. “It had been fun, pretending to be other people that day,” I murmur, pulling his tie towards me to place a sweet kiss on his lips for choosing a great song as our entrance dance. 

“Ready to Go, Ms. Julie Fountain?” Draco asks me against my lips, “Oh gosh, the names! Ready as I’ll ever be Mr. Nick Wayne!”

With a final private kiss, Draco and I enter through the tent doors. With as many silly dance moves as we can think up, we dance our way to our table to the catchy notes of the third verse and chorus of our song.

_ “...Sometimes I catch myself staring into space _

_ Countin' down the hours til I get to see your face _

_ Hey Julie look what they're doing to me _

_ Tryin to trip me up _

_ Tryin to wear me down _

_ Julie I swear it's so hard to bear it _

_ And I'd never make it through without you around _

_ No I'd never make it through without you around…” _

With a final dip from my partner in crime, we stop in front of our table to the enthusiastic jeers of our close friends and liberal guests and the begrudging claps of the more formal guests. 

“I am glad today is more about celebrating us rather than the power couple that we are portrayed as,” I whisper to Draco as he waves and thanks the small guest list sitting before us. 

Kissing my knuckles over my wedding band, “I know how much it will benefit both of our businesses to do this the pureblood way next year,” he murmurs, “but is it wrong to say I dread it?” 

My grimace transforms into a sterile smile as Narcissa makes her way over to us. I am almost relieved when she leans in to give me a strong hug and kiss on both cheeks but as she pulls away her eyes are cold and distant. 

I don’t have much time to consider this as Lucius pulls me into his arms, “You look more beautiful tonight than my son deserves, my dear. Welcome to the family. Officially.”

I lean up and give him a warm kiss on the cheek, ignoring the glare I can feel Narcissa is sending as I move onto my parents and our friends. 

“All I am saying is they really don’t need us here for the party to get underway,” Draco says as he charms some of my fly away curls back into submission in my chignon. 

“Dragon, we still have the dances, cake cutting, general enjoying of the festivities as husband and wife--” 

“Wife, the only general festivity I want to enjoy is between your legs,” I blush deeply at his smoldering gaze. 

“It will still be so early if we head there now, Draco, barely 11 in the morning. We couldn’t even check-in when we arrive; I wouldn’t be able to indulge in you right away,” I pout ready to turn his argument down entirely. 

“Elizabeth from the Indes Magical Community owns the magical counterpart of Hotel Corales de Indias and you know she would do almost anything for you,” Draco pouts right back, “including have our floating bungalow ready early.” 

Laughing, “Draco I cannot use my friendships like that!”

“It would be a humanitarian effort. You wouldn't be using her, dove. Imagine removing you from this glorious dress, freeing your hair for the next 3 weeks, dipping into the Caribbean, and its beautiful clear waters surrounded by nothing but sea.”

Bringing his face closer, nose nudging my cheek he purrs softly, “Imagine me being able to kiss every inch of you on the days we stay put. Imagine having the seclusion of our hidden floating bungalow off the coast of Colombia earlier than planned?”

Stretching my neck to give him more room to roam, I run my hand idly through the hair on his neck as I consider how early we could slip away when I am broken from my reverie. 

*Chink, chink, chink*

I laugh as Draco’s expression sours at the interruption, eyes glinting dangerously towards the offender. He truly believed I would let him whisk us off to Cartagena early. 

Sending a saucy wink to Draco when he groans audibly, Blaise begins what I am certain will be the most ridiculous speech in the history of wedding toasts. 

“We all know that Draco goes with Hermione and vice versa. But that was not always the case. I know you all expect us, as the best friends of the bride and groom, to go into the embarrassing details of their childhood. 

However, I am above that. Why mention the horror that our dear groom was until 18? There is no need for me to regale you with the tale of Hermione breaking Draco’s perfect nose with a wicked punch in 3rd year. I also wouldn’t dare remind you all that we allowed the scoundrel who cursed Hermione’s teeth to grow horrifically in 4th year to marry her today. 

But I have promised to be good and avoid talk of ‘ _ The Before _ ’,” he redirects quickly as Pansy silences him with  _ the glare. She _ pushes him down to the chuckles of those around us as she moves to take his place. 

“What this faux comedian means is even with the history that these two orbited around, they were able to build a foundation that has forced everyone around them to sit back and take notice. I don’t think a better partner existed for either of them and I dated one and wanted to date the other,” I groan along with Harry as I remember the many failed triad attempts Pansy created in the early years of our relationship. 

Harry quickly stands, his chair almost falling to the ground, when Blaise spanks Pansy’s arse in front of my family in an attempt to redirect the attention away from the pair. 

“Hermione, as many of you know, is the most loyal, hardworking, caring woman I have had the pleasure of calling family. I would have quite literally not survived Hogwarts and the Wizarding World without her. So when she wanted to return for her 8th year at Hogwarts I was unsure since we all know she could have aced her NEWTS in 6th year. I began to worry when she insisted she wanted to travel after graduation instead of jump headfirst into the grittiest, most time-consuming Ministry roles we could sign up for. But just as she had followed me into every moment of my life prior to that point, I knew it was time to follow her. Taking time away for ourselves did sound more appealing than anything else I had come up with on my own. 

So, equipped with post-Hogwarts plans and ready to finish our last year with a bang I was confused when she started hinting that there was something more going on with Draco than friendship. Intelligent, dedicated but ruthless Hermione, was growing feelings for a man just as broken as me who tormented us for the entirety of our acquaintanceship prior to that year. 

The turning point for me wasn’t as I got to know Draco and the other Slytherins as we were then, but when Hermione finally told Draco about the World Tour we were planning after graduation. I expected reactions similar to what we both experienced when it first came to light: abandonment, discouragement, and derision for such a childish dream. 

I was sure he proved me right. Draco was upset, didn’t seem to want to understand where this dream had come from, and why I would be going with her, my sister in everything but blood. He left that night and I was ready to keep him as far away from her for the rest of the year until we graduated. 

Instead, Draco, someone who until that point I would only interact with if Hermione was around, approached me the next day. You can imagine how ready for a fight I was but instead, he asked for my help. First, let’s all take a moment of silence for the first time Draco Malfoy asked a Potter for assistance,” the crowd roared with noise equal parts booing and laughing at the remark as we all tossed napkins Harry’s way.    
  
Chuckling and sending a wink to my sneering husband, he continued, “Turned out Draco had recruited the rest of the group, everyone sitting here,” he waves his hand at our motley group of couples, “and for a week straight we all worked on reviewing Hermione’s original plan, amplifying it to include everyone, adding new destinations he thought she would want to explore, and preparing to secure rentals or re-open family properties in whichever area we had chosen. 

He had no desire to give her up then or after graduation. Instead of forcing her to choose him or diminishing her desires to align with his own, Draco expanded her plans. With Malfoy Enterprises needing a total English facelift, he knew he would only be able to visit for short bursts of time throughout the three years we were abroad, he never made her feel like it was a burden. He encouraged her, wanted her safe with people he knew would take care of her when he couldn’t, and showed us all how selfless he could be for one Hermione Granger. 

All this to say, Hermione has never been in better hands than when Draco entered our lives. I am so proud of calling him a brother and cannot wait to see what else these two do to rock our worlds.”

With my head against Draco’s upper arm, I smiled gently at Harry as my tears trail onto Draco’s sleeve.  _ Love you, _ I mouth as he takes his seat next to a weepy Parvati. 

“I won’t take as much time as these three saps,” Daphne said as she provides some much-appreciated levity to a very heartfelt reminder of Draco’s dedication to us, “but I do have something I would like to add. 

Hermione taught us to see beyond our experiences and in one of those ‘lessons’ we came across a beautiful, mm what is it called Mi,” she asks, glancing at me, “a bible verse,” Theo responds quietly beside her. 

Resting her hand against Theo’s shoulder Daphne continues with a smile, “Yes, a verse in this incredibly dense book that many people practice from almost as ardently as we practice our magic.” Theo clears his throat beside her, reminding a rambling Daphne to stay on track, “Right, I just wanted to highlight how this marriage already embodies this verse. Also, I was made aware of the Muggle cliche this poses, but I cannot be arsed to care.” Clearing her own throat Daphne glances around and I smile encouragingly at my friend when she notices the rapt attention most of my muggle family is paying her and the curious gazes our magical guests are giving me. 

“1 Corinthians 13:1- that is the way you are supposed to start this sort of thing.” I laugh behind my hand as she winks up at me briefly. 

“Love is patient, love is kind. 

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” 

Folding the parchment back up, Daphne bites her lip glancing skyward momentarily and continuing more shakily, “I’ll allow everyone here to provide their own memories of moments this relationship exhibited each of these qualities and leave you two, Draco and Hermione, with this. You promised each other many beautiful things, but all you have to do is continue to respect the love you have for each other as much as you respect yourselves. Do that and we will all be here again in 50 years when you decide to renew your vows.”

There is silence as everyone takes in Daphne’s words. I look at Draco and then our friends and am filled with such gratitude towards this family we cultivated. 

The silence is broken as Blaise and Theo complain that the plan had been jokes and silly memories of our relationship, not fluff and tears. 

As everyone is laughing once again, I see my dad stand up quietly. “I think I can speak for all four of us,” he motions towards my mother and Draco’s parents, “when I say you two gave us a second chance at family and have filled it with joy and love. I too could not have found a better match for my little girl. So without further ado, let’s all raise our glasses to Mr. Malfoy-Granger and Mrs. Granger-Malfoy!”

I groan at the chunky, joint names as everyone clinks their glasses in our direction and demands a kiss. 

“I think Mr. Granger sounds best, don’t you love?” Draco asks as if reading my mind, looking at me seriously before leaning in. 

“No, no, I decided on Mrs. Malfoy yesterday. I wanted to surprise you but Grace will be updating all my legal documents before we return home,” I whisper, as I drag his face to mine for the requested kiss, his beaming smile against my own. I have always imagined keeping my own surname, but seeing how eager he is to change his own had changed my mind for me weeks earlier. 

* * *

I am enjoying the setting sun from the balcony of the cottage, hands resting lightly on the railing as I tune out the whispers of dancing and merriment continuing on the other side of the gardens. 

The light July breeze flutters around me, pulling a sigh of contentment from my lungs. I had pleaded for a private bathroom break before sneaking off in the opposite direction to catalog and feel all the joy today has brought me. 

I can still feel the sweat beading down my back after Draco had surprised me for our first dance. Instead of simple music playing through the speakers as I prepared for a waltz our good friend Anthony Kiedis and his group, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, popped up to perform Hard to Concentrate. 

I could hardly breathe as I realized what was happening. We had been so crushed when the group wasn’t able to make it as guests. 

We had gotten silly, ignoring Narcissa’s hissed warnings, as Draco twirled, dipped, spun, and wiggled around me. Half-way through we crushed the last of Narcissa’s perfect pureblood ceremony expectations and invited the rest of the guests to enjoy the RHCP the way they are meant to. I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling. 

“You shouldn’t be out here while your American friends are busy jumping around in there. A well brought up lady would know to stay with her husband at all times,” Narcissa quietly sneers behind me. 

Not willing to turn around and give her the attention she so desperately wants, I sigh out, “Are you enjoying yourself, Cissa?”

“Weddings are not meant for enjoyment Ms. Granger,” she sniffs, “they are meant to be societal announcements of new, necessary alliances being established. As this is neither, I find the event quite lacking.”

“I am sorry you feel that way. I am sure our societal wedding next fall will at least uphold one of your two criteria,” I retort, wrapping my arms around myself and turning to her slightly as she stands stiff at my side. 

“You are such a selfish girl, Hermione Granger.” She hisses and I feel the anger rolling off her in waves. “I gave you everything when you left school. A home to run to if you needed solace, a mother to hold while you tried to fix the mistake you made with yours, and I allowed you to warm my son's bed while your name helped us remake our own. That wasn’t enough for you. You had to continue asking for more. More of my son’s time, more of our riches, more properties, making demands on how he lived and who he lived with and forcing him to leave me here to rot.”

She is staring daggers at me as her voice continues to rise in emotion and volume and I hope this episode won’t disturb the merriment beyond, “You wouldn’t even let him enjoy his time with well suited proper ladies. You stole his respectful friends away expecting him to be available for you while you did Salazar knows what around the world with them. You used me, you used Draco, you turned my own husband and your former enemy against me. But I see your scheming and manipulations for what they really are, Hermione,” she spits out my name as if it is an unforgivable. 

“You may be intelligent Ms. Granger,”

“It is Mrs. Malfoy now, Narcissa,” I bite out, attempting to silence her unsuccessfully,

“But your intelligence is nothing compared to the value I will always hold in this family. I demand you release my family and these respectable families from whatever curse you have placed on them, you stupid little mudblood,” suddenly her wand is in her hand, “Cru-ahhh.”

I suck in a breath through my teeth as I watch her wand fly behind her into Draco’s waiting hand as she holds her torso in pain.

“I was so thankful for your support and seemingly infinite compassion towards us when Draco and I first came to you with our relationship,” I scoff lightly, taking a step away from her as I feel Draco step into me. 

“I am sorry that you feel my presence has served its course. I will continue to treat you with respect and love Narcissa. I will continue to speak to specialists who may help us understand if there is something actually wrong within you for you to speak and act with so much hatred towards me. 

However, I did not survive a war and a rise through the Pureblood snake pit by riding Draco’s robe tails. I rose up on my own merit and I will be damned if I ever let you speak this way to me again. Did you believe that I would be complacent enough, naive enough, to not set wards on this property set to protect me and Draco from attacks against our person?” I ask, voice steady even as I remain in shock that she attempted to torture me on the night of my wedding. 

“You are welcome to contact us if you find yourself in need of something you cannot acquire on your own or through your estranged husband. However, you will stay away from us, from our friends, from our plans, and from our events. I will not have you enter my place of business nor any other event I may be in attendance. If you try, you will find yourself violently expelled before you ever reach the entrance.”

Grabbing Draco’s hand I continue, “I will be starting a family with my husband, Narcissa. You will have grandchildren, and based on the vibrancy of our bonding ritual today, you will never be rid of me. So you can either work through your anger, hate, and prejudice and really look at the new reality around you, or you can stay here in this cottage for the rest of your days alone and forgotten. It is up to you, but I am officially done attempting to appease or bring back the woman you once were.”

“Lucius, can you take her somewhere - anywhere - else until the wedding is over, please? I just, I don’t want Draco leaving me,” I ask Lucius cautiously, for better or worse this is still his wife. 

“Slink,” Lucius calls his favored house-elf, pulling me into a one-armed hug as I continue to hold onto Draco’s hand, “please make Narcissa comfortable in the sitting room of the London Townhome until I return this evening.” 

With a collective sigh as Slink pops Narcissa’s furious countenance away, both Malfoy men surround me. 

“You handled yourself admirably daughter.” 

“I knew I should have whisked you away to Cartagena earlier and begged forgiveness after,” Draco teases but I know he is as shaken up by her vitriol as I am. 

“Who would have guessed that the biggest challenge was her and not you, father?” Draco said shaking his head and kissing me repeatedly. 

“Let’s get you back to the party. Anthony and Flea were egging Richard on at the champagne tower and I fear that the rest of the party will devolve in debauchery if we don’t get you both back inside, inject some cake in everyone’s system, and see you two off for a much needed, private escape,” Lucius declares as he tugs us along behind him. 

“Mmmm, I love you, my Lioness. I almost stepped in, but father is right, you handled yourself perfectly. I am only sorry you had to have this confrontation today.”

“I love you, too my Dragon. And I know but I would rather set the precedent now than have to come back and ugly our return from Colombia with a confrontation.”

I smile brightly at Lucius’s quiet gag in front of us. With an evil grin, I dare Draco to beat me back and we leave Lucius behind as we race to the party to start jumping around with our friends.

* * *

I gaze out at the setting sun before me excited for the interruption that will occur this time around, secure in Narcissa being over 900 miles away. 

The fresh Caribbean breeze blows through my loose curls as I lean lightly against the railing separating me from the ocean below. I chuckle at Draco’s outrage when I undid my hair before he could the moment we arrived. 

I keep my eyes on the endless horizon as I hear the faint click of the door. I don’t turn my gaze away until the soft padding of feet stops directly behind me. Turning my head I lift my shoulder up to meet my chin as I eye Draco’s thick exposed arm and shoulder. Biting my lip as my gaze follows his tongue darting out to wet his lips, I murmur ‘husband’. 

“Mmmm,” I turn back to the lapping waves, “we should go sailing while here. I read the uninhabited islands scattered throughout are magnificent to explore--”

“What we should be doing,  _ wife _ ,” Draco interrupts, pushing my hair onto my left shoulder as his nose traces my hairline from behind, “is exploring if you did indeed follow instructions and kept your hands off that pretty little pussy of yours.”

I shiver involuntarily at his words. 

He places his hands on either side of my own, caging me in and I gasp as I feel his surprisingly nude form mold against me, his hard member thick against my lower back. 

“I don’t think I have ever seen a more beautiful sight than the image of my wife, in her wedding dress, against the backdrop of the Caribbean Ocean at dusk. Widen your stance a bit, baby,” he orders. 

I feel the gusset of my knickers sticking to my pussy lips as I move my legs apart, gasping as the warm air tickles against my wetness. 

With delicacy, he traces his fingers under my gown and up my inner thighs ghosting over my drenched knickers. “You’re positively soaked dove. Either, you came with your knickers on directly disobeying my orders or you have been dripping all day.”

I groan as his thumb continues his teasing touches against my outer lips, not applying any force or moving to uncover my throbbing clit. 

“I’ve been dripping since last night when your first letter came. All I could think of was our first time and I couldn’t relieve myself, knowing the momentary satisfaction would never compare to what you could make me feel Dragon.”

He groans deeply behind me and I cry out as he removes his hand from my nether lips entirely and brings them to rest next to mine once again. 

I almost turn in protest when Draco slowly drags his fingertips over my fingers, my knuckles, up to my forearms, my upper arms, tracing over my shoulder bones before slowly moving to the zipper of my gown. “You’re such a good girl for me Lioness. And good girls deserve to feel,” with practiced efficiency, his thick fingers trail after the zippers decline, quickly undoing the ribbon in his way, and we both look down as my gown flutters to the floor around my heeled feet, “everything,” he breathes against my neck. 

_ ‘Divesto’ _ his breath ghosts out and I gasp as I am fully exposed to the endless Caribbean ocean before us, knickers and bra magically removed. His hands find my nipples and begin to glide over them, softly at first then harder before he plucks them between his thumb and forefinger. My moans turn into high pitched squeals of pleasure when he twists them hard and my body jerks at the arousal he’s inspiring through me. 

“Please, sir, please,” I beg, grinding my arse against his upper thighs, making sure my lower back is rubbing against his member, feeling his pre-come leak a trail along my spine. 

He bites down hard on my neck as his hands leave my swollen nipples and his right-hand grips my pussy hard, palm jerking against my hidden nub forcing my hips to jerk forward in response. 

He finally runs his fingers up and down my slit, spreading my lips open to discover just how wet I have been all day. “Yes,” he hisses against the love bite he will be recreating for the following 3 weeks, “so ready for me baby, do you feel me, do you feel what you do to me, knowing you would be a good girl, knowing how wet you would be the longer I made you wait?”

His leg kicks mine further apart as his left-hand moves to rub my arse cheeks reverently, momentarily distracting me from the fact that his right hand has left my sex once again to trail up my torso and tangle into my wild curls. 

“Draco,” I scream out as he enters me in one delicious thrust. He pulls me closer to him forcing me to take a step back from the railing. I take the opportunity to lean my forearms against the railing, head dropping between my arms, further presenting my rear as he circles his hips against my own without pulling out. 

With each exhale I let out a low-hiss as his cock shifts within me. 

“Ready baby?” he whispers above me. Shaking my head slightly to clear it, knowing it should be too soon for me to feel this mindless, “Ye-yes, p-please,” I manage to stutter out. 

With a shallow thrust, the hand in my hair pulls tighter, arching my head up towards the sky, curving my back and he is entering and retreating with vigor. 

He alternates his left hand from rubbing slow, teasing circles around my clit to plucking and kneading my dangling mounds. He is pulling a symphony of keens and groans from my parted lips and I know I need to see him.

I turn my head as much as his grip on my hair will allow me to watch him. His mouth lets out grunted breaths above me as his forehead is furrowed in pleasured concentration. 

I am huffing my breath out of my opened mouth as my hand’s curve around the railing and start to match his thrusts with my own. He releases my nipples and straightens up. My arse shakes under our combined onslaught and my eyes flutter as his own gaze is now locked on my jiggling arse cheeks. 

“Unggg,” I keen as his hand lands on my arse as he pulls out. He continues to thrust in quickly and pull out with a slap to my arse, the sharp sting of his hands evaporating as his cock thrusts back against my walls. 

As his hips piston his cock into my willing sex, I feel an overwhelming sense of calm come over me, every sensation rushing away from my body like the retreating tide, and then just as quickly the wave of my orgasm crashes over me. 

I feel my knees buckle against the pressure Draco built up within me until I finally found release, my own juices pushing out around his cock as they trickle down my thighs. 

Before I can feel my hands betray me or my legs drop me to the ground, his hands are around my hips, pulling me upright, and cradling my body parallel to his own. I can still feel his steel heat deep within my pulsing center and I am in awe again that this man is mine. This man who is willing to deny himself release to hold me until I ride through my own. 

With another full-body shiver, his arms slide directly under my chest, fingers lightly tracing over the slight protrusion my ribs leave against my sides as he rains kisses on my crown. 

“Take me inside, Dragon, I want to see you, please,” I whisper kissing his bicep as he continues to cocoon me in his embrace, his love. 

I feel his head shake in the affirmative behind me and we both whine slightly as he slides out of me. 

“Come, Mrs. Malfoy, it’s time for me to carry you to our wedding night bed,” with a dramatic flair he bends, lifting me into his arms bridal style as I throw my head back laughing at his antics. 

Before he can throw me onto the bed as I am sure by his lustful gaze was his intent all along, I cling tighter to his neck, bringing my lips to his ear and coyly mumbling, “wait, please. I want to ride you.” 

Draco shudders as he slowly sits, never letting me go, against the headboard of our massive honeymoon bed. 

Leaving a lingering kiss under his jaw, I nip at his chin before I lean into his chest lightly and lift my leg up to magic first one heel, then the other, off. Laughing at the slight pout he sends my shoes, I shift myself onto my knees and move to straddle his upper thighs. 

“Don’t worry, you’ll get to fuck me in them as many times as you want, husband.” He smirks wickedly. 

Instead of positioning myself over his cock, I sit back, legs wide open against his thighs, and watch his eyebrows furrow at the delay I am exhibiting to bring him back into me. 

I lick my lips slowly, nodding slightly in satisfaction when his eyes drop down to watch my tongue. “I have never had an unfulfilling sexual experience with you, Dragon. No matter how many years we spend together, I hope that never changes. However, I stopped myself from touching myself for the past 48 hours and it has been the sweetest torture. Since I am such a good girl, I wanted you to watch while I show you just what I wanted to do while in the tub reading your first letter.”

Draco’s eyes widen as he realizes what I am going to do. With a slowness neither of us are accustomed to from me, I whisper my hands from my hair to my neck and slowly trace my collarbone. I feel my skin pimple in my wake. My fingers then teasingly fan along my chest, forefingers tracing my puckering nipples and slowly shift my head back at the sensations my own touch inspires. 

I don’t dare close my eyes though; watching Draco’s eyes follow the fire my own touch is inspiring is igniting me in ways I could never do on my own. Slowly my hands trail to my lower lips and we suck in a breath as I part them exposing my nub and wet core to his darkening gaze. 

I drag my fingers further down, my abs tightening in anticipation, before allowing my left hand to trace around my entrance and my right to stroke around my clit. Moaning, I bite my tongue as it sticks slightly out of my mouth in an effort to keep my eyes open as I slowly ride my fingers, hips jerking against the light touches I am placing along my clit. 

“Draco,” I drag out, “Draco, look, I’m so wet, so ready for more of you. This is what you do to me. Thoughts of you, you watching me, you being under me. Please,” I pant pathetically.

My plea snaps us both out of the game and his hands dart out to finally touch my skin, fingers joining to move quickly over my clit. And it is as if my body is waiting for him, knowing it needs his touch as I come shaking over my fingers, Draco’s fingers rubbing fast circles on my clit along my own. His other hand grabs my hips tight, dragging my stuttering body closer, lining himself between my quivering junction and slowly lowering my pulsating walls onto him. 

I feel my whole body spasm again as I have something other than my thin fingers to clamp onto, and I drop my head onto his shoulder as a second, milder orgasm rocks through me as he lightly thrusts into me from below. 

“Fuckk, Merlin’s tit’s Hermione,” Draco pants to my left. I hear him mumbling above my ear and I angle my head to try and catch what he’s saying, “Dumbledore going down on Pince, Kingsley riding Proudfoot, Umbridge in nothing but…” 

I burst out laughing, open-mouthed against his shoulder, “Dragon,  _ Umbridge _ .”

Lifting my head up I see him scowling at me, a slight blush dusting his sweaty cheekbones and I slowly lift up to kiss him. We both groan when it brings his still hard member sliding through my sex again, almost as if our minds forgot what our bodies couldn’t - that we were still joined as one. 

Abandoning my original goal, I begin to undulate my hips as I rise and fall slightly off his lap. I grip his upper arms hard as his hands trace over my nipples before he shoves me hard onto him once, twice, three times and then the world flips over as I land on my back. Draco is smirking over me as he pulls my knee to rest against his lower side and I bring my other up to mirror it. 

I throw my head back at the new angle as he is pounding into me, my hands reaching up to find purchase against his neck, back, shoulders, wherever my hands can latch onto, without slipping off. 

On a particularly deep thrust that has me crying out for Draco to ‘please, again’, I latch my ankles behind his back as leverage to pull myself and meet him halfway on each thrust. 

Finally, our lips are crashing against each other, tongues lapping at the other, truly tasting each other for the first time all night. 

His lips are home, his body thrusting into mine matching the beating of our heartbeats and his skin against my own is as comforting as his old Quidditch Jersey wrapped around me. 

This man, this man is mine, forever now, and with every kiss, every nip, every thrust, every lazy caress of my body with his wandering hands, I am reminded that I too am his. 

As his lips leave mine, following a path he has crafted since that first time in 8th year, I remember the indecipherable whispered words he left behind against my collarbone as he latches onto the skin just above it and sucks hard. 

And just as I am about to lose my thoughts to the fog of my pleasure in Draco’s hand, I hear it. I hear the same murmuring, the same cadence of words and I hold my breath just enough to finally hear him whisper, “ _ Mine, mine for now, yours forever, yours _ .” 

“Oh Godric, Draco, draco, draco,” I cry out as his touch, his heat, his cock, and his possessive words, spoken into my skin as early as 8th year pull me over the edge once more. 

With a deep grunt and three more stuttered thrusts into me, I feel his sex pulse repeatedly into mine. 

With some difficulty he brings his head up off my shoulder, placing a loving kiss along my brow before dropping his forehead to mine with a huff. “I love you, so much. I am,” he sighs, head shaking slowly against my own, “so thankful, so lucky. Fuck, so in love with you, Hermione Malfoy.”

Bringing my shaky hands to cup his cheeks I lick my lips to chase away the dryness my orgasms have wrought and whisper against his lips, “I have been yours since 8th year, yours then, yours now, yours forever my Dragon. And you mine.” 

We spend the rest of the evening relishing in the bond that began 10 years previous as we swim and make love in the open waters of the Caribbean, under the night sky. 

* * *

A love note to my fandom love:

EarlGreyPanic - May your marriage last longer than the stars in the sky. May it burn brighter than fiendfyre. May you find joy in the arguments and laughter even in moments of sadness. I am so excited to see where the next 10 years of your love story takes you. Thank you for letting me use small snippets of yours to inspire this little fic. 

xoxo -TF48 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is so funny that I only published the first chapter of this lovely story in July but as I moved to edit and add finishing touches to this final chapter almost two months later, I wanted to change so many things about this story. 
> 
> However, this was made with love and gratitude for the friendship I have gained with EarlGreyPanic and I am so happy to be able to finally deliver a finished product to her. xoxo
> 
> Per usual, I am beta-less and even Grammarly has forsaken me. 
> 
> Thank you for reading along with my first multi-chapter fluff ball!! 
> 
> Please leave comments if you read, it only helps boost our desire to produce more! And if you must disagree, ConCrit is confirmed. 
> 
> Pleaseandthankyou. ॐ ॐ

**Author's Note:**

> I don't have an update schedule but this short story is written fully! 
> 
> I appreciate all concrit and willingly hoard all kudos and comments you want to give!!
> 
> This is my first, longer than 2k story and hope that its recipient loves it as much as I adore her. xoxo
> 
> Also, if you haven't already, I highly recommend taking a dip into EarlGreyPanic's fics. I may be biased as her alpha/beta but they are worth the read!


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